


Siege

by Scribe32oz



Series: Seven Scrolls [18]
Category: The Magnificent Seven (TV)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Bandits & Outlaws, Canon-Typical Violence, Ensemble Cast, Established Relationship, F/M, Female Character of Color, Gun Violence, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Male Bonding, Male Friendship, Novella, Romance, Series, Sieges, Small Towns, Strong Female Characters, Western
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-25
Updated: 2017-11-25
Packaged: 2019-02-06 15:46:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 83,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12820791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scribe32oz/pseuds/Scribe32oz
Summary: When a group of hired guns with a secret agenda of their own chooses to lay waste to the town of Four Corners, the seven find themselves embroiled in a battle for survival of everything they hold dear.





	1. Lines of Convergence

 

It was inevitable this day would come.  
  
The men who ran supreme over much of the West had watched and waited for decades, stemming the tide where it was possible and being swept away when it was not. They waged their campaign against the intruders like generals on the battlefield, fighting for each hill and every patch of land awaiting possession by those who arrived first to claim it. For a long time, they held their ground through sheer determination because it took raw courage to thrive in a land while supposedly flowing with milk and honey, required nothing less than blood and sweat to tame. Nations were built across the globe on the hard work of such individuals, whose character and strength was largely responsible for the opening of new frontiers.  
  
In the West, it was no different. Some would say it was even harder because it was more than just land they had to defend, it was a way of life. The axioms of the Old World did not apply here and while attempts were made, as it was always was by new colonists in a strange land, to make life in the image of the one they knew, the land had a way of teaching them otherwise. In the earliest days of the West, it was the ranchers who ran supreme. With their herds of livestock, they brought civilization into terrain most deemed beyond the ability of any to conquer. The coming of the ranchers opened a new era of opportunity for those trapped in the slums of urban living, in the great cities of the East. They would come by any means necessary to plunder the spoils of a new frontier and from the first day of their arrival, the lines were drawn and the battle for the West began.  
  
Twenty years before the end of the century, the war was more or less lost by the patrician ranchers who were the first conquerors of the new territories.  
  
Settlers, some from the cities, others from lands further across the Atlantic, swarmed prime land once used for grazing and cultivated it with cash crops and the formation of small communities, none of which could be displaced once its roots were driven into the ground. The homesteaders had won the war through sheer numbers, like a plague of locusts finding a particularly tasty field upon which to feed. Their volume grew until the rancher was driven back by numbers alone, retreating in the face of overwhelming forces.  
  
Stuart James and Guy Royal were men whose fortunes were built on the work of their forebears and understood how eminent defeat was. They were raised in the traditions of their fathers who believed there was no such thing as defeat so long as the will to fight still remained. For them, there was no possibility of surrender and they allowed the new arrivals to believe for the moment, they had been overwhelmed into complacency. They watched and waited, their resolve giving way to a begrudging acceptance this was the way things had to be. After a while, it almost became tolerable, the loss of prestige coupled with the taste of stagnant power and the invasion of what they deemed to be theirs. For a time, there seemed to be no further indignity to which they were forced to succumb and they came to a painful yet necessary realization.  
  
The homesteaders were here to stay.  
  
As much as they disliked admitting it, James and Royal could not deny the homesteaders journeying to the West had mettle capable of surviving most trials. Those who could be forced out were not meant for living here and only made room for those who could. In the town of Four Corners, both men learned its townsfolk was a testament to the frontier spirit and nothing could dislodge the settlers who had encroached upon land that should have been theirs for the taking. It was not to say James and Royal did not try. The attempts to remove the troublesome colonists proved unsuccessful, almost to the point of being fatal for the men who were the architects of the forced exodus.  
  
Eventually, the ranchers agreed to leave things as they stood, for it would serve no one to expend too much time and resources on removing the usurpers when there was little hope of victory. Particularly when there were seven guardians who would ensure the failure of any plan to achieve such an end. Despite all efforts to rid the town of the Seven, each fresh attempt was met with failure. It was almost as if the town was as protective of its lawmen as the Seven were of Four Corners. A curious symbiosis had formed between the community and the lawmen as if the prosperity of both relied on their link to one another.  
  
For a while, a stalemate had settled between the town and the ranchers. But it was only a matter of time for the lines of tension tightened with the influx of more and more people and things were coming to ahead. Outside forces that had little to do with the ranchers or the settlers had arrived in Four Corners.  
  
The railroad.  
  
Guy Royal had been perfectly aware of the railroad coming for some time now and had prepared himself for it by buying up as much land as he could. He hoped to make the company's purchase of land as difficult as possible by owning as much of the required territory. However, even he had to bow to the pressures from government bodies who insisted he sell up or face the wrath of Federal authorities. Royal made himself a great deal of money from the sale but even he knew what the coming of the railroad would mean to him and his kind. True, the grazing land would not be affected but settlers would be coming on a scale the ranchers could not hope to cope with. The moment the first train rumbled down its new tracks, both Stuart and Royal knew it would sound the death knell of the power they had once wielded in the Territory.  
  
"So you appreciate our problem." Guy Royal said to the woman seated in the chair across him, on the porch of his home.  
  
"I do," she nodded, lifting the glass of lemonade to her lips. "Unfortunately, what you want will not be cheap. My services alone will cost you."  
  
Stuart James tried not to be sceptical, even though he had been examining the woman closely since his arrival at the luncheon arranged by Guy Royal. Both men had been discussing the dilemma facing them with the arrival of the railroad and agreed the time to do something was at hand, with Royal taking the steps that saw them here today. The woman who made the triumvirate at the table was very much the siren, with her mahogany coloured hair and deep brown eyes. Her ability to turn heads was without question but he doubted her claim she was able to mount an expedition capable of ridding them of their problem with Four Corners.  
  
She was dressed like any well-bred woman with red riding coat, high-necked shirts and riding boots under her flowing skirt. At the moment, she seemed more at place behind the reins of a buggy on a manicured path in one of those fancy gardens common to large eastern cities, not sitting here with them plotting mayhem and murder.  
  
"We have the money if you can do the job," James said with unmasked doubt in her ability.  
  
Royal threw him a dark stare at the remark because he was perfectly aware of the lady's reputation even though it took some shifting through numerous agents to find her.  
  
Although most of the intelligence indicated she was dead, it had taken more money and underground contacts to learn she was still very much alive and making a good living, hiring out her services as a mercenary. From what he knew about her work, she was very good at what she did and rarely failed when undertaking a mission. Royal wondered how much had to do with her being a woman because it was all too easy to be disarmed by her looks.  
  
"I can do the job and I won't be hiring just any rabble to help me when I do." She pointed out, making reference to the time when Royal and James hired men to drive the residents of Four Corners out of town. Not only were the men selected to the task amateurs who ran at the first sight of the army coming in their direction, but they had also been dumb enough to fall prey to a rather clever ploy by the Seven.  
  
"That was a bad decision." Royal swallowed, unable to deny they were lucky to escape that debacle without implication. If it were not for one of the Seven killing his agent Earl who organized the whole affair, Royal had no doubt that Earl would have spilled the truth to save himself and both he and James would now be languishing in jail. "However, I gather you have a better idea?"  
  
"Well for starters, I know men who would fight an entire army if paid well enough. A job is a contract to such men, not to be discarded when it becomes inconvenient. For what you wanted to do, you should have hired professionals, not any rabble that can carry a gun. Furthermore, you want people to leave; you just make it very uncomfortable for them to stay. Chasing them out will simply make them all the more persistent. You want someone gone; you wear them down continuously until they are grateful to leave. Its all a matter of knowing the target."  
  
Although James was begrudged to admit it, he was impressed by her words. "Where do you find men like this?"  
  
"I know a few," she said with a faint smile, meeting his gaze because she knew he was underestimating her because of her sex. It was not a new experience. This was after all the West. It was a land tamed by men who usually forgot the women who were working alongside them. "However the man I have in mind is south of the border."  
  
"You mean Mexicans?" Guy wrinkled his nose in distaste.  
  
"Bandits to be precise," she replied, not caring if this offended his delicate sensibilities. "These men do not care who they kill or what uniform they are shooting at. As long as they know there is a great deal of money waiting for them at the end of the road, they will do anything and do it with a song in their heart."  
  
"I don't care," James said firmly. "I just want that town _gone_. I want it to be an example to anyone who even considers settling on its burnt ashes for the next twenty years. I want the railroad to take one look at the mess and decide it isn't worth the trouble and go somewhere else. I don't care whom you have to kill to get the job done as long as Four Corners is nothing but a bad memory by the time you're through. If you can do that, I'll pay whatever you want."  
  
"That can be arranged." She answered coolly, a stark contrast to his vehement outburst. "Any particular requests?"  
  
"Yes," Royal nodded without hesitation. "I want you to personally see to it the seven lawmen who protect that town have their hides nailed to a wall."  
  
"That is not a problem," a slow smile stole across Selena Quint's face. "I had always intended to do that. I have some _history_ with them."

 


	2. Hired Guns

Even though he was in body, playing a game of cards with Ezra and the others in the saloon, Chris Larabee's mind was anything but centered on the game.

Since his marriage of four months ago, one thought had been preoccupying his mind with such intensity he knew it was time to look at the issue seriously, instead of brushing it aside with his customary indifference. After almost five years on his own, living a life that bordered on a hand to mouth existence, Chris had forgotten the full implications of what it was to be married again. After he sold the land where he and Sarah built their lives, Chris had put the money in the bank and forgotten all about it until he stumbled into Four Corners and found himself a new life.  
  
A dollar a day with room and board might have been acceptable when he was on his own but now that he was a married man, Chris was forced to recognize he had financial obligations as well as emotional ones to contend with. Of course, neither Chris or Mary had ever discussed such things prior to their marriage and Mary had what Steven left her to support herself and Billy, without requiring Chris to provide for them, not to mention the revenue generated by the newspaper. Still, Chris was old-fashioned in the belief a man ought to be able to provide for his family and somehow he knew he was not going to manage it on a dollar a day.  
  
He had no intention of walking away from his duties as lawman but he did know he had to make some hard decisions on whether this was all he intended to be. There was a time when he made a pretty decent living ats a horse rancher and besides killing, it seemed to be one of the few things he was quite good at. The parcel of land he bought outside of town was ideal for the purpose and Chris had to admit he had subconsciously selected that particular property for that reason, even though horse ranching had been the furthest thing from his mind at the time. Still, he had enough money left in the bank to get started and it would not detract from his obligations to Four Corners in any way.  
  
Until trouble actually came rolling into town, he and the seven were seldom required on an around the clock basis. There were enough of them to ensure Four Corners was never left unattended and he knew he could devote enough time to this venture without compromising his obligations to the community. Besides, he felt a certain loyalty to Four Corners because it had given him a new lease on life when he had been counting the days to the bullet that would finally put him in the ground. Coming here had changed his life in ways he never imagined. He certainly never envisioned a turning point had arrived in his future when he first made his way through the dusty town, seeking for a place to bed down and get a drink.  
  
"Mr. Larabee," he heard Ezra's voice interrupting his thoughts.   
  
"What?" Chris looked up from his cards even though he had no idea what he was holding in his hand.  
  
Ezra rolled his eyes in resignation and repeated himself. "Are you sitting with those cards?"

Chris realized Vin and Buck were staring at him, waiting for him to discard so that they could continue the game they were playing.  
  
"Sorry," he grumbled and made a quick survey of his hand before tossing two cards into the pile of discards before Ezra handed him another pair to compensate.  
  
"At the risk to life and limb," Ezra spoke up as he continued dealing. "Might we inquire what has your attention so intently?"  
  
"No." Chris retorted and surprised no one with his response.  
  
"Very well," Ezra shrugged, accustomed to his answer because Chris rarely liked intrusions into his private life by anyone, even his friends. "It would make a pleasant change from Mr. Wilmington's endless diatribe on why Inez has not accepted his proposal of marriage."  
  
While Chris had no intention of being a change of subject for those at the table, he could appreciate Ezra's dilemma. For two months now, they had heard nothing from Buck but endless, complaints, arguments, debates and preponderance as to why the object of his affections was so adamant in not marrying him, even though she was carrying his child. Today saw no lapse in the pattern of behavior and although Inez was nowhere in the saloon at this time of the morning, Buck was nonetheless searching for her each time someone came through the door.  
  
"Hey!" Buck exclaimed slightly hurt that his feelings could be so easily ridiculed by his friends. "I can't help it if the woman is crazy."  
  
"Why is the woman crazy?" Ezra stared at him, his hands still handling the cards deftly. "Forgive me for saying this, you are not exactly the most ideal example of paternal potential."  
  
"What do you mean?" Buck asked, looking to Chris and Vin for support with both men opting to remain silent instead of being drawn into this debate, or more particularly, _another_ debate. "I can be a good husband."  
  
Vin who was just about to swallow a mouthful of beer nearly choked at that statement, producing an expression of smug satisfaction from Ezra to Buck. The tracker gulped badly and started coughing before he gave Buck an apologetic look.

"Sorry, Buck." He said clearing his throat.  
  
"How hard could it be?" Buck stared at them in defiance. "I seen Chris do it and it weren't that hard."  
  
Chris who was trying not to be noticed by paying close attention to his cards, hoping that the question would not fall to him, grimaced sightly. "It isn't that hard at all." He muttered hoping that was as much input Buck would need on the subject.  
  
"Inez requires a good provider," Ezra pointed out as they continued playing. "Last time I looked, a man making a dollar a day plus room and board was hardly appeared to be considered as such." In truth, Ezra was very protective of Inez in her fragile state, especially with most of the town aware that she was now with child. While Inez had enough friends around her to offer support in her time of need, the town itself was viewing the pregnancy with distaste by keeping their distance from her. Inez was his friend and as far as he was concerned, while it was the intelligent thing to accept Buck's proposal, he could also understand why she was so reluctant to do so.  
  
"Okay," Buck frowned forcing to concede that Ezra was correct on that score. "What else?"  
  
"You gotta be around." Vin pointed out since he knew from first-hand experience what it was like to have a father that was never present. In fact, if his mother had not told him he was a Tanner, the tracker would have doubted whether he ever had a sire in the first place.  
  
"I got that covered," Buck replied, also perfectly aware what it was like to be without a father to know that he would like to be involved in the child's life. "I love kids." He grinned at Ezra, defying the gambler to put up any obstacles before him he could not cross.  
  
"You have to be content with one woman," Ezra said putting forward the most difficult hurdle in Buck Wilmington's road to paternity.  
  
"I can handle it." Buck glared at him with narrowed eyes.  
  
"For more than _two_ hours." Chris could not resist adding. As the one person who knew Buck the longest, Chris knew just how susceptible Buck was to a pretty face.  
  
"Okay," Buck groaned, throwing down his cards because his luck, gambling was as promising as his chances as a prospective husband, according to his friends. "Maybe I ain't treated her the way I should. The question is what do I do?"  
  
"Take cold showers, lay off the ladies and grovel like hell until she gives you the time of day," Chris said with a faint smile as he called Ezra's bluff.  
  
"Ouch." Buck grimaced, unable to imagine how he was going to stand abstinence when every time he saw a woman, he saw the possibility of an extremely enjoyable time.  
  
"Come on Buck," Vin declared while studying what Ezra had on the table; "you're a tough guy. You can keep that animal magnetism on hold for awhile." The tracker was trying not to smirk since Ezra was doing that to smug perfection already.  
  
Refusing them the pleasure of seeing him defeated and also because he was slightly annoyed at their lack of faith in his ability to win Inez over, Buck decided he was going to abstain. "You're right. I can do this. No problem." He said standing up from his chair since he was more or less out of the game and Ezra had taken more of his money that he was willing to part with already. "I gotta date with the new saloon girl, I'm gonna break it off right now."  
  
"A good start," Ezra remarked as he presented his cards to Chris with a slight smile and caused the gunslinger to frown as Ezra took the pot, again.  
  
"You'll see," Buck called out striding past the semi-quiet morning crowd. "I'll show her that I'm the marrying kind." With that, he walked out of the saloon, determination dogging every step of his departure.  
  
"How long do you give him?" Vin asked no one in particular as Ezra started dealing again.  
  
"A day," Ezra replied with a faint smile.  
  
"You're being generous." Chris met his gaze; perfectly well aware how long Buck could last. "I wasn't kidding when I said two hours."  
  
"Care to lay a small wager on that?" The gambler asked with a suggestive gleam in his eyes.  
  
"Ezra, you ain't got no shame." Vin retorted, unsurprised that Ezra would make something like this a sport for gambling.  
  
"A dollar," Chris spoke and cut Vin short.  
  
"Well, Mr. Tanner?" Ezra looked at him with a hint of challenge.  
  
Vin let out an exasperated groan and replied, "I'm with Chris on this one. A dollar for me."

* * *

  
It was some time later when Chris and Vin had left the saloon to relieve J.D. and Josiah at the jailhouse did Chris have a chance to speak about what had been preoccupying his thoughts lately, aside from Buck's difficulties. Chris knew that any venture of this sort would naturally have to involve Vin Tanner since Chris had become so accustomed to having the young man at his side that it seemed odd when Vin was absent. From the beginning, both had seen something in each other that made words unnecessary and somehow the friendship that was borne from that initial encounter was one that Chris knew would last forever, just as he had known that Buck would be forever in his life from that first moment. Chris who found it difficult to trust anyone, let alone rely on them, had found no such difficulties with Vin because there was a streak of dependability in the young man that was almost unexplainable. Chris knew that no matter what hell he chose to ride into, if he asked, Vin Tanner would be right at his side, riding shotgun. He would do so without question or argument, until he felt strong enough about something to make him opinion known. The instance of that happening was so rare that it was wise to take heed to it when it happened.  
  
"You've been fading away quite a lot lately, pard," Vin spoke up as they made their way down the street. "Want to tell me what's on your mind?"  
  
Chris allowed himself a faint smile, unable to deny that it was almost as hard to hide things from Vin as it was from Mary. The two of them had different kinds of perception but no less accurate in its way. "I've been thinking about what I'm gonna do beyond looking out for this town."  
  
Vin did not understand. "What do you mean?"  
  
"Well I'm married now," Chris replied. "A dollar a day with room and board was a good deal when it was just me, but it ain't just me now. There's Mary and Billy. I got a family to keep. I can't expect Mary to take care of the house and everything without taking some responsibility myself."  
  
That, Vin _did_ understand. As someone who was in love with a woman who was so self reliant it was frightening at times, Vin knew what it was to desire being able to provide financially for the women in their lives. He could appreciate Chris' dilemma because he had the same concerns with Alex. It bothered him that she had more money that he could ever dream of having and that financially; she had no need of him. While it was a small thing in itself, it burned right to the traditional core of him that he would never be able to provide for her in the way she was accustomed.  
  
"I see where you're coming from," Vin said with perfect sympathy for Chris' situation. "What can you do about it though? It's not like we can get a raise or nothing."  
  
"I had an idea." Chris volunteered and saw Vin's interest immediately aroused. "I used to ranch horses." He admitted, even though he was certain that this was information Vin already knew. "I got that piece of land out there, I can do that again."  
  
Vin considered the idea and had to agree that it was a good one. The parcel that Chris had selected for himself was ideal for the purpose. It was of terrain that horses could thrive and it was a large enough property to accommodate a ranch.  
  
"You'd really go back to ranching?" Vin asked, unable to imagine Chris Larabee indulging in anything so domestic. Then again, when Vin had first met him, he had not thought Chris would be the kind to settle down and get married either. Lately, he had done both so Vin was hardly surprised by anything that Chris could throw at him.  
  
"Yeah," Chris nodded. "I would. Looking after this town doesn't take up too much time for most parts and I got enough money in the bank to get started." Chris did not add that there was not a horse ranch anywhere in the immediate vicinity of Four Corners and most people went to Sweet Water or Bitter Creek to fulfill that purpose. From a business standpoint, it was a sound venture.  
  
"I think you should go for it then," Vin said full of confidence that if anyone could make such an enterprise work, it would be Chris. "If I can be of any help to you..."  
  
"Actually," Chris met his eyes with a slight sparkle. "I thought you might like to come into it with me."  
  
Vin stared at Chris unable to think of what to say to that offer. It took a moment for him to answer. "You mean like partners?"  
  
"Yeah," Chris smiled liking how that sounded. "Partners. I was going to ask Buck as well but he's probably with that saloon girl now winning us money from Ezra so I'll ask him later."  
  
Vin was about to refuse when he actually considered the question and realized that he had no reason to do so. Thanks to his bounty hunting these past few months he had about a thousand dollars in the bank that was accruing interest as Ezra explained it to him when he had allowed the gambler to explain his passbook to him. Horse ranching was something he could do as well as tracking and at some point; he was going to have to think of the future. While he was not married yet and would not be for sometime thanks to Eli Joe and Tuscosa, that mess might resolve itself in the future. There was no reason for him to idle the time away when some productive might be achieved in the interim.  
  
"You don't have to answer straight away," Chris remarked, taking Vin's silence to mean that he was somewhat reluctant about the idea. After all, he could understand Vin's reasons for not wanting to commit himself to one place or throwing his lot entirely with Chris. "I know it ain't no small decision."  
  
"Its nothing like that," Vin quickly spoke up so Chris would not misunderstand. "I just never thought about it. I use to think that I'd worry about the future and marrying Alex after I get my name cleared in Tascosa but I'm wondering now whether that's such a good idea."  
  
"How so?" Chris asked genuinely interested as the jailhouse came into sight.  
  
"Well, clearing my name could take a long time and I can't ask her to wait forever." He replied, his brows knitting as he spoke as if he were thinking about it even now. "I ain't rushing to get married and I know she ain't either but when we do get hitched, I want to be able to give her more than my name you know?"  
  
"Look," Chris shrugged because this was also something he had considered even though he had not voiced his deliberations to Vin. "At some point soon, we're going to have to deal with this thing in Tascosa. I know that you believe the truth is enough but it ain't gonna be in this case. We're going to have to spend some serious time trying to get your name cleared. However, until that time comes, you ought to be thinking about what you're going to do. You're right, you can't make Alex wait forever and you sure as hell can't put your life on a standstill until that price comes of your head." As Chris spoke, the gunslinger suddenly felt very much his age and saw Vin not as a friend but a younger person needing some sound advice  
  
"You're right." Vin said after a long pause. "I guess I gotta move on somehow, even if my name ain't cleared. You know," Vin sighed. "I never wanted to tame land or be no farmer. Closest I ever got to settling for less was when we ran across each other that first day when I thought I might make a good store clerk."  
  
"Who could forget?" Chris laughed remembering that very well and also thinking how ill-suited to the vocation Vin had been.  
  
"I meet her and everything I want changes. Suddenly, I'm thinking about providing for a family and kids and God knows what else."  
  
"When it's the right woman, you surprise yourself." Chris admitted, remembering how much he had been willing to sacrifice when he met Sarah. All the hard living and drinking simply melted away when he decided to make her his wife. After that, it had been church on Sundays, coming home for dinners and finding that the highlight of his week was when she served dumplings. When she had died, all those little things had been lost until recently when he began his life with Mary.  
  
"I've been surprising myself a lot," Vin admitted trying not to look embarrassed as he spoke about how he felt about Alex. It was not easy for him to talk about his feelings, which was one of the reasons why he and Chris got along so well.  
  
Chris just seemed to have an idea what was happening and would give him a nudge or a word of warning when he needed it. After a moment, he met Chris' gaze again and allowed a small smile to run across his face as he regarded the gunslinger. "Partners, huh?" He asked.  
  
"Yeah," Chris grinned as he suddenly had a premonition on what Vin's answer was going to be. "Partners."  
  
"I guess I'm in," Vin replied as they arrived at the jailhouse. Despite the lingering doubts of uncertainty he felt over this venture, Vin could not deny that he felt as if he had made the right choice.  
  
"Partner." He extended his hand towards Chris.  
  
The gunslinger seemed to smile wider as he took Vin's hand in his own and returned the handshake. "Just make sure I never let Ezra talk me into letting him do the books." Chris laughed.

* * *

  
Nathan Jackson was not having a good day.  
  
He and Rain could see the town of Four Corners in the distance and for once in his life, he was grateful to be home so that he could dump Rain with Miss Alex and get some peace and quiet for a few hours. He had no idea what was wrong with the love of his life but at the moment, she was ornery that he was staring to fear for his life or his inability to keep from ending hers if she did not soon shut up. As usual, he had gone up this weekend to spend some time with Rain and check on the welfare of the Seminoles who relied upon him as their only means of proper medical care. During the entire two days there, he and Rain had done nothing but argue and just as he decided he was had tolerated just about enough of her bad mood, she declared that she was returning with him so she could spend a few days in Four Corners.  
  
The journey had not been this long even when he had first made the ride to the village with Chris Larabee and the others, preparing to do battle with a rogue army of Confederates with five to one odds. Whatever was infuriating Rain so much was not something she was about to reveal but she complained about everything until Nathan almost contemplated the idea of taking her back to the village and continuing on alone. Despite her behaviour, it was the reason for it that was most confounding to Nathan. He had said and done nothing that might possibly offend her even though he was forced to admit that women could be funny creatures. Things that would not upset a man could turn a perfectly reasonable young lady rabid with fury.  
  
Rain was not that far from being that.  
  
"We're almost there." Nathan had said as she rode along side of him. Four Corners lay in the distance, separated by a gulf of flat plains. It was early spring and the temperatures were already starting to climb into summer heat. As they approached the town, he could see the shimmer of heat rising into the air from the hot ground and made a mental note to head to the saloon once he arrived in town.  
  
"Good." She said icily.  
  
Her manner raised his ire to no end and made Nathan increasingly agitated. He resisted the urge to shout; since they had both been doing a great deal of that throughout the journey. However, he hated this state of affairs between them and finally found himself asking her what was the reason for it. "Rain, what's the matter?"  
  
"Nothing is the matter with me." She stated firmly, her jaw setting in that way he knew was her way of hiding a lie.  
  
"Good Lord woman," he said exasperatedly. "Even a bear with a thorn in its foot ain't as mad as you are! Now you've been trying to take my head off since I got to the village which kind of makes me confused why you're coming back with me now."  
  
Rain shifted her gaze at him. Her brown eyes narrowing as if there was much fury behind them, contained in an iron cage of resolve.  
  
"I am sick of waiting for you." She declared.  
  
Nathan simply stared at her because this was not a dislike she had confessed prior to this visit. "What do you mean sick? You know I gotta be in Four Corners for a reason. I ain't staying with you because I like it." He implored, unable to believe after so long together that it would come down to this.  
  
"Then why do you not ask me to stay with you in Four Corners?" She demanded.  
  
In truth, he had never considered it. He had always believed she was happy in her village and that she had no wish to leave it. Nathan had not asked because he did not think it fair to naturally assume that she was willing to leave behind everything she knew simply because he asked. "I never thought you wanted to leave." He said stunned.  
  
"Well you were wrong." Rain said glaring at him. "I do not feel like I am a part of your world Nathan." She declared. "Every time you come to visit, I hear talk about everyone, Josiah, Buck, Ezra and Alex and I believe that they are more real to you then I am. I am only a visitor in your life, not a permanent part of it."  
  
Nathan was horrified that Rain could believe such a thing. Did she not guess how much he loved her? How many times had he ridden to see her, even when he was exhausted and ready to drop, he would rather die than break his promise to return to her. Sometimes, all that kept him from going insane was the thought of seeing her as he rode into the night, with only the memory of her smile to keep him company. There were always opportunities with other women and if Nathan had wished to exploit those avenues, he would have but he loved Rain and was unprepared to be one of those men who fidelity lasted as long as it took for them to meet the next woman who happened by.  
  
"Rain that's crazy!" Nathan exclaimed. "What gave you an idea like that? You're the most important thing in my life. I'm learning to be a doctor with Miss Alex and studying for exams so that we can be together." He leaned over form his horse and took her hand in his, enveloping the warm of her delicate fingers with his own.  
  
As he held her hand in his, Nathan saw the hard edge of her eyes starting to soften slightly and guessed that she was sorry at her earlier behaviour even though her pride would not allow her to admit it to him. "I am tired of being left behind Nathan." She said after a moment, her eyes falling to the dusty road before them as if she was preparing to drop another astonishing revelation in his lap. "I am returning with you to Four Corners to stay. I will not be going back to the village."  
  
"To stay?" Nathan's eyes widened.  
  
"Yes," she said with a tone in her voice that made Nathan's heart sink. He knew that determined expression in her eyes all too well. There would be no argument or any hope of convincing her otherwise. "I will stay in Four Corners from now on."  
  
"You mean you want to get married?" Nathan was almost afraid to ask. "I think that's a bad idea!" He stammered. "We don't know each other, not really. I mean we've been together for a long time but not really together and..and..and.." he was running out things to say.  
  
"What are you talking about?" She looked at him perplexed by his gibbering stutter. "I do not wish to marry you immediately either." Rain rolled her eyes and then straightened up in her horse with haughty indignation at what he had been babbling about. "What do you mean it's a bad idea?" She said angrily. "I'll have you know Nathan Jackson, that I had no plans of marrying you when I came back with you today. I only wish to see a little bit of the outside world myself." She pulled her hand away from his and stared at him imperiously. "I can take care of myself."  
  
"Come on now Rain," Nathan groaned, cursing himself for landing his foot right in his mouth for his stupid remarks earlier. Why didn't he just give her the chance to explain before assuming that marriage was what she had in mind? "I didn't mean it that way. I was just thinking that.."  
  
"I know exactly what you were thinking." She retorted with a voice that sounded positively glacial in its delivery. "This may surprise you but you are not the end and be all of my life. Did it ever occur to you that I might wish to see something of life outside my village? I have been there all my life and with my grandfather gone, I have no reason to stay."  
  
Four Corners appeared around them in the midst of this conversation with Nathan hardly noticing the faces moving past him as he tried desperately to convince Rain that he did not mean to insult her when he had run off at the mouth. Who knew that she had been stewing with such ideas for so long? Every time he had been to see her, Rain had never confessed any desire to leave the village or shown any interest in the outside world. Occasionally, she came to town and visited but that was a much desire as she had ever displayed to live anywhere else but the village. Still in retrospect, he could not blame her for wanting to seek out more at this time. After all, she had lived a mostly insular existence in the Seminole village. Since the community was a mixture of escaped slaves and Indians, it was wiser to remain hidden with all the danger in the Territory at present.  
  
"That's all well and good," Nathan replied. "I can take care of you as long as you like."  
  
"I don't need you to take care of me like I am some child!" She barked so loudly than those townsfolk walking by had reason to pause and stare at them as they rode by. "I can find a job. This is a growing town, I am sure I can find some work."  
  
Nathan liked this less and less and he wished he knew what had inspired such a burst of independence, not to mention stubbornness. He knew she was strong-willed but Rain had never exerted her presence so prolifically until now. "What kind of work?"  
  
"I don't know!" She retorted. "I will find something. It cannot be that hard. I have spoken to Inez, she said she might need some help in the saloon with the baby coming."  
  
"In the saloon?" Nathan exclaimed with nothing less than horror. He knew how hard a time Inez had in the establishment, dealing with Ezra, fighting off drunks, dealing with angry customers, the occasional bar room brawl and then there was Ezra! To think that Rain might be embroiled in such unsavoury happenings was enough to make his blood boil. "No way, you gonna work inside that place! I forbid it."  
  
"You. .forbid. .it?" She asked slowly.

* * *

  
"He actually said that?" Alexandra Styles asked Rain half an hour after the young woman had arrived at her home. "Nathan actually used the word forbid?"  
  
Rain had arrived to find Alex entertaining Inez, Julia and Mary who were gathered at the kitchen table over a pot of tea and hot blueberry pie. As the young woman nestled herself in the tight-knit circle of friends, she explained the argument that she had just concluded with Nathan. An argument that was ended with her embarrassing him in public by telling Nathan and possibly half the town that she was not his property and the day he forbid her to do anything and expected her to obey was the day she lost her mind. Naturally, Nathan had not taken this well and Rain had escorted herself to Alex's who often gave her a place to stay when she was in town.  
  
"Yes and all because I told him that I was thinking of taking your offer, Inez." Rain said glancing at the Mexican who was presently devouring her second piece of pie with none of the other women raising an eye in amazement. Inez's appetite was something they had become accustomed during the past few months and was now common place to all who knew her present condition.  
  
"Forbid." Julia mused. "I don't think I've had that word used on me since I was ten." The redhead replied sipping tea from the dainty china Alex produced only for these afternoon sessions with her female companions. "And that was mostly because my father found out Bobby Fisher wanted to play doctor."  
  
"I don't need to know." Alex retorted and Julia threw her a wicked smile before raising her cup to her lips again.  
  
"Well, working in a saloon is not exactly the idea place." Inez pointed out trying to play devil's advocate. "Some men may have a problem with that."  
  
"Why? It's a job." Rain countered, impatient with the whole idea what was proper work for a woman. She had spent her life harvesting crops, planting fields and digging up irrigation trenches. What passed for women's work in the Seminole village had been greatly expanded in description owing to the lack of men to and the necessity for survival.  
  
"You are grown woman Rain," Mary said serving the girl a piece of pastry while Rain poured herself a cup of tea after Alex had handed her a cup. "You have the right to live as you wish. Besides, Inez does need the help. She can't be in the saloon serving drinks and fighting off drunks when she gets further into her term."  
  
"Thank you for reminding me what fun-filled days I have to look forward to," Inez groaned and felt the need for more pie. Turning to Alex, she looked at the doctor. "I don't suppose you have any cream to go with this or jam?"  
  
Alex rolled her eyes and then added. "Inez," she said sweetly. "I know we are eating for two, yourself and the baby but we are talking about a human baby here, not a buffalo. A little moderation will make delivery a little less painful when the time comes."  
  
"DO YOU HAVE THE CREAM OR NOT!" Inez screamed and made Alex jump back, startled.  
  
"Thar she blows!" Julia laughed. "That famous hormonal temper rises to the occasion, yet again." Her amusement was shared by everyone else at the table including Alex, who was more than used to this kind of display. Rain was looking at the pregnant woman with confusion as the others around her were laughing at Inez's outburst.  
  
"Scream at the doctor now," Alex warned as she went to get the cream. "And you risk suffering when it comes time for that internal exam." The doctor smiled with as much deviousness as she was capable of sending in Inez's direction.  
  
"I'm sorry," Inez replied, feeling so embarrassed by her temperamental moods. It seemed she was incapable of tolerating any kind of argument lately and was prone to flying off the handle at a moment's notice. "I'm just moody."  
  
"Its perfectly understandable," Mary said clasping Inez's hand in warm support, completely aware of what pressures the woman was enduring.  
  
Even though her immediate friends had no difficulty supporting Inez in what was almost a scandalous decision, the rest of the town had started to treat the bartender as something of a leper. As the manager of a saloon, she had never been held in very high esteem anyway by the supposedly Christian folk of Four Corners but at least her virtue was never in question. Now with the impending arrival of her child, thanks to Buck Wilmington, even that last vestige of respectability was stripped from her. While the wagging tongues did not cause any real harm to someone as strong as Inez, it still hurt to have her name bandied about in the same breath one would discuss the local whore.  
  
Inez threw Mary and the rest of the women present at the table a warm smile, wondering if they could even guess how valuable their friendship was to her at this point in time. With what she had chosen to embark upon, Inez felt comforted knowing that she would not be alone in the hardship ahead of her. "Thank you. I know I'm acting a little crazy, it's just that I really wanted that cream."  
  
The table exploded into riotous laughter that even Rain was now participating. Alex was still giggling as she produced the jug of cream that Inez had been so adamant about receiving. The doctor pushed the pie plate in Inez's direction as well since there as only one piece left and it was never wise to deny a pregnant woman the right to her pie and cream.  
  
"Look," Alex said pulling up a chair at the table and rejoining the group. "Nathan will just have to get over it." She advised Rain. "He's used to having you at the village where it was at his discretion whether or not he saw you. Your decision to stay in Four Corners takes that out of his hands so naturally, he's going to be a little testy."  
  
"Well I am staying and Inez," Rain looked in the direction of the future mother to be. "If your offer still stands I would like very much to help you in the saloon."  
  
"You can stay here as long as you like." Alex offered. "Although I suggest not running into Nathan for a while if he has a problem with you and the saloon."  
  
"Actually," Julia spoke up, having something of her own contribution to this discussion. "I have a large house with many rooms and no chance for you to run into Nathan on a daily basis. You're welcome to board with me if you like."  
  
"And it's closer for you to get to the saloon," Mary added.  
  
"If you don't mind." Rain said meeting Julia's gaze. After Nathan's reaction to her decision to stay in Four Corners, paying particular regards to her working at the saloon, Rain decided some time apart would not be a bad idea. She still loved him but felt the need to explore her boundaries a little. After so long being cloistered in the village and her occasional trips to Four Corners, Rain wanted to broaden her horizons. If Nathan chose to question how she intended on carrying out that task, then as far as he she was concerned, he could go to hell.  
  
"I'll be glad to have you stay," Julia said genuinely meaning it for she liked Rain and supported any woman who wanted to find her own place in the world as she had once been driven to do.  
  
"Thank you." Rain smiled at the beautiful emporium owner. "I just cannot believe how pigheaded Nathan can be about this."  
  
"They're men!" Mary exclaimed as if this explained everything. "If you look in the dictionary under the word, stubborn, pig-headed, arrogant, annoying. ."  
  
"Don't forget brooding, somber." Alex reminded.  
  
"Superior and smug." Came Julia's voice into the fray.  
  
"There would be a picture there of the seven men we know," Inez concluded with a mischievous smile.  
  
Another series of giggles and titters followed before the room returned to some measure of seriousness again. "If it were any other way, I would be married already." Inez continued. "Not living a life as a woman who has sinned." She sighed, searching for something else to eat. Alex slid the cookie jar perched on the other end of the table in her direction.  
  
"You didn't sin," Mary groaned. "You succumbed to how you felt about Buck. Who knew the man could be so fertile in one night?"  
  
"What makes you think it's him that's fertile?" Alex spoke up. "He has slept with everything that moves. If he could get Inez knocked up after just one night, we'd be up to our knees in little Wilmingtons by now."  
  
"And thank you for putting so much romance into your description," Inez smirked at Alex who winced when she realized what she had said.  
  
"Romance in this place?" Mary looked at her best friend in skepticism. "When was the last time any one of us had anything in the way of romance? Come on girls, fess up. Chocolates, flowers, tokens of love? Anyone?"  
  
No one spoke and a cricket somewhere was making itself heard most prolifically.  
  
"Exactly," Mary replied folding her arms. "I love Chris, I truly do but if I ever got a bunch of flowers from him. I would die from the shock."  
  
"Well Vin takes me to places where there are flowers," Alex said thinking, uncertain whether that counted or not. "And sometimes I get poetry."  
  
"You...get...poetry?" Julia stared at her. "The last thing I got from Ezra was a bracelet he won off some man who was using his wife's jewelry as a stake!" She said with a slight hint of outrage. "This will not do."  
  
"I don't need to tell you what I got from Buck but suffice to say, I'll be breast feeding it soon," Inez grumbled.  
  
Suddenly, the kitchen door opened and Vin Tanner made his entrance. "Hey Darlin', I didn't come at a bad time did I?"  
  
Anything else he was going to say was immediately cut short by the ferocious glares being thrown in his direction by the women present at the table.  
  
Normally, Vin could take five to one odds but judging at the icy stares aimed in his direction, the tracker decided he was not going to risk it. He swallowed and bid a hasty retreat. "Maybe I'll just come back later."

* * *

  
The town was hot and dusty and it sat on the edge of the border that separated America from Mexico. Despite the fact that the community was situated on the US side of the border, it had all the characteristics of a typical Mexican village. Spanish style buildings flanked the muddy track that ran through the heart of town and served its purpose as the main street. It was approaching late afternoon and still, the heat felt nothing like spring but more like a hellish summer. Flies were buzzing about and the general mood of the place seemed miserable as people came and went, not wishing to be here but not finding anywhere else better to go.  
  
Selena Quint had been through this area several times in her life and though she was not exactly what one could call a figure that was a local personality, those who lived here knew well enough to leave her alone. Although she appeared to be a well-dressed lady of good fortune, those who had been unwise enough to interfere with her in a manner she found disagreeable soon learned that under the facade of beauty was a most fatal combination of cool professionalism and ruthlessness. She dismounted her animal and glided through the street, catching a few curious glimpses as she made her way through the town.  
  
Her appointment should already be waiting for her and she hoped that he would not keep her waiting for it was a long ride back to what she deemed to be civilization and she had not the intention of remaining in this town for any longer than necessary. To her, it was nothing more than just a place to conduct business, as any watering hole might serve the purpose in that way. Still, as much attention she might draw to herself with her presence, Selena knew that people here did not talk about whom they saw here. Those who did seldom survived to regret the mistake.  
  
The cantina was like any other, just as redeeming as the rest of town. She recognized the horse tethered to the hitching post and knew that he had already arrived. The grey mare was almost as worn as its master and just like its master, had more fight in it then anyone suspected. She had met him years ago when she had conducted business south of the border, trading her skills with the politicking that was the lifeblood of corrupt little demi-gods grasping for power. When she had known this man, he was already as vicious and greedy as any scum she had happened upon but out of their mutual need came a healthy respect for another's abilities and over the years, she had the chance to call on those skills.  
  
As she stepped past the beaded entrance into the dim innards of the establishment, she was immediately bombarded by the odor of cheap liquor and the cigar smoke, among other things, which Selena preferred not to identify. Her eyes scanned the room, searching for him in the sunless rooms of the cantina, among the dark corners where occasionally a feminine voice would giggle in Spanish followed by soft whispers that left no doubt as to the intent it carried. Selena who could speak fluent Spanish sighted her party soon enough.  
  
He waited by the bar, flirting with a rather round Mexican senora who was doing the honor behind the counter. He did not see her when she approached, moving across the floor with the silence of the wraith and just as much stealthy presence. Selena did not speak until she was almost to the stool next to him and even then, her response was a single word.  
  
"Diaz."  
  
He immediately turned around, making no apology to the woman he had been attempting to charm. The bar tender gave Selena a dark look as if she had intruded on what might have been a pleasant dalliance with this man. Selena could not imagine such a thing since he had passed his prime a lifetime ago and his once fine figure now reeked of the booze that had yellowed his bronze skin and loosened the taut muscle that made him something of a ladies man.  
  
"Querida." He smiled. "It has been a while."  
  
"Two years." Selena nodded, as she looked over her shoulder at the bartender. "Tequila please."  
  
"I taught you well." He grinned, revealing teeth that were yellowed and missing in place. Selena had no doubt that he had traded the gold fillings long ago. "You drink like one of us."  
  
"I am not one of you." She said firmly, disliking any thought of those days when she had considered Diaz someone she cared for. In the days of long ago, he had taught her much and she had expanded that knowledge beyond anything he could have imagined. However, it was sad for any student to see a master in decline and Selena felt some semblance of sorrow to accept that this was the way things were between them now. "Are you and your banditos still riding for hire?" She inquired.  
  
"More or less," he said grimly. "These days, it is getting harder and harder to find decent employment. My men talk about finding better work but most of them are bound to me because there is nothing else for them and they know it. We will ride until we drop."  
  
"You have to eat." She pointed out as she downed the tequila with one sharp toss of her head. She noticed Diaz smiling at her as she did that, pleased that she still drank in the manner he had taught her since it was he who had introduced her to the drink.  
  
"We do," Diaz replied. "But we do not need a job for that. There are a lot of little villages like this own around the border, far away from the army or the law. We ride in and take what we want, ride out again before anyone can raise an alarm. I suppose we are scavenging." He chortled even though his voice indicated that there was nothing at all amusing about living that way.  
  
Once again, a pang of sadness reached her heart over his circumstances but she crushed it ruthlessly, having no wish to grieve over things that should have no concern for her. "I have a job for you and I can guarantee you that it will pay extremely handsomely."  
  
"What kind of job?" He asked, his voice perking up considerably even though he was trying not to show it.  
  
So, he did have some pride left, Selena thought. "Does it matter?"  
  
"No," Diaz shook his head. "I suppose it does not but I would like to know something more about it. I have to tell my men something."  
  
"That is fair." She had to concede to that particular demand. "I need you and your men as a show of force. We are to be instruments of a very abject lesson to be remembered for the next two decades, if my employers have their way. You will be provided with everything you need from ammunition, supplies and fresh horses if they are required. However, you will not see a cent of your money until the job is done. I will have none of you run out of me until the contract is completed. Do we understand each other Diaz?"  
  
He saw the glimmer of menace in her eyes and knew that it was not a request made lightly. "My men will not like being held to ransom." He pointed out unhappily.  
  
"And I will not have you running at the first sign of trouble." She said coldly. "You stay for the duration or you will not get a cent. Tell your men that if they stay until the job is done, I can guarantee they will walk away with no less a thousand dollars each."  
  
"A thousand dollars does me little good." Diaz retorted, making his bid for money, as Selena was certain he would. "I would go through that in a month."  
  
"As a leader, I have ensured that you will five thousand dollars American." She stated, prepared for this.  
  
"Five thousand?" He said trying to hide that he was impressed since the lure of the money was nothing he could refuse. However, Selena allowed him his dignity. These days, it was all he had. "For five thousand, I will ride with you but I wonder what I am agreeing to for such a sum."  
  
"You're agreeing to nothing, you are getting paid to show up and fight." Selena retorted. "Now get yourself sobered up." She said rising to her feet. "We ride at first light tomorrow."


	3. The Net

Casey Wells was dreaming of J.D.  
  
This was not unusual state of affairs for she was a young girl and he was after all the object of her affections. In this instance, she remembered little about the dream only that when the thunder of hooves beating against the ground had woke her prematurely, she felt rather flustered and annoyed at being thrust back to reality so abruptly. She heard the rhythmic gallop of riders coming towards the house even though it had yet to become audible in the air. In truth, she felt the shudder through her bones more clearly than she had actually heard it.  
  
The eminent arrival of numerous horses resonated from the ground and reached her even while she lay against her pillow.  
  
She sat up in her bed when the vibration finally shook her free from her slumber, awareness of the approaching riders bringing her consciousness back to full stead. Outside it was still dark even though she could see the warm glow of the sun beginning its journey across the sky behind distant mountains when she peeked out her window. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, Casey climbed out of bed, curious as to who might be coming to see them at this hour of the morning.  
  
Being the only homestead in the area, Casey knew for certain that it could only be them, the strangers were coming to see. The thundering approach of the riders closing in on the property could now be heard, their presence no longer content with distinguishing themselves with a tremor of their hoof beats.  
  
Casey strained her ears as she tried to discern who the strangers might be as their voices joined the fray in the cacophony of approaching sounds. They were still some distance away but from what she could hear, Casey immediately deduced them all as being male. She listened closely, trying to ferret out the exact words being spoken so she gauge whether the men coming were friend or foe. After all that business with Guy Royal who had used his hired thugs to force Aunt Nettie into selling, Casey was more than cautious when it came to nocturnal visitors in the dark.  
  
She knew what it was like to be victimized and intimidated by men who were more than happy to frighten two women alone simply because there was no man to guard them. For years, Casey had tried to fill that role on their farm even though she knew it was unfeminine and she looked decidedly odd getting around in men clothes all the time. Unfortunately, she had little alternative to do anything else. Aunt Nettie was getting older and wearier by the hard work required to run the property and Casey was determined to ease the burden off Nettie's formidable shoulders.  
  
"Casey!" Nettie called outside her bedroom door. Judging by the tone of Nettie's voice, Casey knew immediately that her aunt perceived danger in the eminent arrival of the men riding hard towards their farm. Not knowing who was out there and where they were coming here, send a sliver of fear down her spine. The young woman could appreciate the reason for her aunt's apprehension as she quickly slipped out of her nightdress to put on some more practical clothes in case the need arose.  
  
Rushing out of her bedroom, Casey discovered Nettie was still in her own nightgown, her faded shawl draped over her shoulders while she searched the cupboard drawer for the shells that would load the shotgun in her hand. Seeing Nettie with the firearm immediately drove home to Casey just how much danger Nettie believed was coming in their direction. "Did you see them?" She asked hurrying to the wall, where her own rifle was perched up on a wooden rack.  
  
"No," Nettie shook her head as she found the shells and immediately loaded the gun with as much ammunition as it could take. "But I can sure as hell hear them," Nettie replied meeting her gaze. "There's a lot of them, maybe ten or more and they speak Mexican."  
  
Casey felt her heard constrict. "Mexican bandits?" She asked, unable to guess what they were doing so far north and deciding that it was really academic. The fact that they were coming seemed to indicate that debate on the subject was rather pointless.  
  
"Could be." Nettie nodded as she completed the task and looked up at her young niece. "Casey, I want you to get going. There's no telling what kind of men these are. Until we find out, I rather you not be here."  
  
"Why?" Casey looked at her in a mixture of dismay and bewilderment before a more important realization came to bear. "I can't leave you!"  
  
"You can and you will," Nettie said in that fierce, no-nonsense tone that could make someone like Vin Tanner flinch. "I ain't letting them get their hands on you and if they're coming this way, that's likely to happen. Now go."  
  
"I can take care of myself." Casey protested, knowing what her aunt feared so much.  
  
When Royal and his men had tried to drive them off the land, he had threatened Nettie with the possibility that her niece would be subject to rape. If anything had almost defeated her aunt's powerful determination, it was the atrocity of such an act committed against Casey. Fortunately for them, Royal was never allowed to make good on that threat after their plight had reached the seven who defended them both as fiercely as they would defend one of their own. However, neither J.D. nor any other members of the seven were present now and they had to fend for their own.  
  
"Casey," Nettie stared at her sternly. "I don't want any arguments." The old woman took her by the arm and started guiding her towards the back door that would lead into the woods where Casey would have some measure of cover in her flight. Even Casey could now hear the voices of men on horseback making their speedy arrival at the homestead. She heard what Nettie had heard; the slurred speech of liquor that had the power to rob the wits of even the most reasonable of men.  
  
Nettie pulled the door open so sharply, Casey thought she might have ripped the wood of its hinges. The horses were almost at the front of the house now and both Nettie and Casey turned sharply to the cry of their neighing as bridles pulled to them to a half with abrupt action. Casey could feel her heart pounding and met Nettie's gaze again. The fear in aunt's eyes was real and suddenly the young woman began to understand how important it was for her to leave.  
  
"Aunt Nettie. ." Casey started to stammer. "What about you?"  
  
"You ain't got time to worry about me," Nettie shoved her through the doorway. Casey almost fell down the steps but caught herself in time as she turned to face the old woman once again. "I'll bring help!" She almost wailed, torn with anguish at what she was required to do, feeling cowardly and weak for abandoning Nettie like this. "I promise! I'll bring Vin and J.D.!" She declared continuing down the steps.  
  
"You do that," Nettie said as she raised her gun, preparing to face the intruders. "Now git!"  
  
The words impacted against her like a physical blow and Casey found herself turning on her heels. She heard Nettie close the door behind her as she started to run into the wall of trees that surrounded the homestead, perfectly aware of how to take the advantage of the natural vegetation to make her escape. She could not reach the horses. She knew that. For Casey to do that, it would require her to emerge from her hiding place and Nettie did not want her presence exposed to the men who she could hear dismounting their horses as she ran deeper into the foliage.  
  
Casey ran far enough to be hidden amidst the trees and found herself compelled to stop as thoughts about what was happening to Nettie began to prey on her mind. She resolved herself to merely listen for a moment, just to ensure Nettie did not need her help. Casey paused, trying to discern what was happening even though she could not hear anything. Wide-eyed and more afraid than she had ever been in her life, she could hardly breathe as she tried to detect the sounds that might indicate what was happening at home. The rifle was still in her hands and her knuckles had become white from gripping it so hard. She heard someone banging on the door of the house and indignant shouts of anger as entry was refused. Casey peered through the branches and trees at the house but its shape was a dark silhouette in the night. Only the sound masked nothing of what was happening.  
  
The sudden explosion of what Casey was certain Nettie's double barrel shotgun, made the girl utter a soft cry of fright at its abruptness and she froze as she heard excited cries immediately swept away by more gunfire. Aunt Nettie! Casey thought frantically and started running back to the house when her senses returned to her just as she was about to break the tree line into the grounds of the homestead. No, she had to get away. Aunt Nettie wanted her to go get help and that is what she was going to do. Fighting every instinct that told her she ought to be at her aunt's side, Casey turned on her heels and started running the way away from the house, hoping that Nettie was still alive when she returned.  
  
Out of nowhere, a shadow lunged at her. Casey was knocked off her feet as she felt arms tackle her to the damp ground. The rifle fell out of reach and she did not see where it disappeared in the darkness, aware only that it was no longer in her possession. Searching desperately for it in the thick undergrowth, Casey's attempts to do so was soon was forgotten in favor of a more pressing problem.  
  
"Hey Chiquita." She heard a distinctly masculine voice say to her. The arms forced her on to her back and Case saw the dark shape of the man straddle her. His weight pressed down on her and Casey could do little but look up to see the face that was staring at her from under his hat. The darkness obscured his features but what she could see allowed her to recognize the salacious leer on his face that spoke his intentions with perfect clarity. Effectively trapped beneath him, Casey squirmed as she tried to break fee but his thick hands were pinning her to the soil, pressing her wrists deep into the dirt.  
  
"Get off me!" She shouted in a mixture of fear and sheer stubbornness.  
  
"I found the girl!" He called out to his friends.  
  
Casey could not see them but she certainly heard their approach. Their footsteps trudged through the dew-wet ground towards them. Suddenly, it came to her like a splash of cold water that if she did not escape right this minute, there would be no chance at all when his friends arrived. After he had called for his so far unseen companions, he freed one of his hands by keeping both her wrists under the firm grip of the other. Once free, he made his intention clear enough by the path it took, snaking under her shirt for a feel of soft, young flesh.  
  
"I think we will have a good time, Senorita." He grinned, his teeth gleaming in the light of dawn.  
  
"Like hell we will." Casey broke free and immediately wrapped her hand around a rock she had seen lying near her while he had been so quick to take his liberties with her body. Without giving him time to react, she smashed it against the side of his head. He cried out in pain as the weighty lump of rock impacted against his skull. Taking advantage of his momentary lapse, Casey twisted hard and dislodged him from his place on top of her. He was still clutching his head in pain when Casey rolled onto her knees.  
  
"Help!" He shouted, bringing his friends running towards them. Casey could not see them any more clearly then she could see him but knowing that they were coming was enough to make the girl scramble to her feet and start running. Casey did not look behind as she bolted forward, running through the terrain she knew like the back of her hand, even though fear was making it hard to concentrate. She tried not think of Aunt Nettie and hoped that she was in the position to save herself, let alone her aunt in the next few hours. It was still a long way to Four Corners on foot but if that was the only chance Nettie had, Casey would do it.

* * *

  
"How many more?" Diaz said to Selena as they rode away from the Freeman property. Behind them, their efforts were emblazoned across the sky in a fiery color of amber and red. The small group of men that had accompanied them for this part of the plan were dealing with Robert Freeman and his family, who were now packing up what was left of their entire world into one wagon. With the exception of the horse that was tethered to that wagon, Selena had allowed Diaz and his men to commandeer the rest of the livestock.  
  
Selena did not answer as her attention was momentarily taken by the sound of a beam snapping inside the burning house. She looked over her shoulder long enough to see the house shuddering as the fire consumed it rapidly. Amidst the roar of the fire and the laughter of Diaz's men, she could hear Freeman's wife weeping while her husband swore profanely at the men who had burned down his home. Having relinquished him of his weapons, Freeman's rage was as impotent as his ability to stop the men who was currently razing everything he owned to the ground. His children were huddled in the wagon, staring at the proceedings with wide-eyed terror.  
  
"At least three more," Selena replied when she finally turned away from the scene and took up examination of the map and list that Guy Royal had been so good to provide her with. "We should have time to get them all before anyone makes it to town and let the lawmen know what's happening."  
  
"I say this is a waste of time," Diaz replied distastefully, preferring a more direct approach rather than the surgical precision of Selena's plan which though had its merits, seemed laborious to the casual observer. We should just ride in there and kill them all."  
  
"We do it my way." She said impatiently as she sat astride her horse and nudged it forward away from the Freeman property. Besides, the fires were spooking the animal. "This is not just about clearing the land for the moment," she answered as Diaz rode alongside her, keeping pace with her attempt to distance herself from the homestead. "We need to create an atmosphere of fear so thick that no one will ever wish to settle in Four Corners again, even after we're done. This has far greater implications then merely removing an unwanted tenant." She pointed out.  
  
"I suppose," Diaz shrugged, deciding that as long as he was paid for the trouble, she could make what demand she wanted of him. "It just seems like an unnecessary waste of time."  
  
"You always rushed into things," she pointed out. "That's why you and your men are now scavenging instead of sitting pretty with a lifetime of dishonestly acquired spoils."  
  
"That is true," he grinned, finding no offense in her words because she always had the knack of speaking the truth, no matter how annoying it is. "It matters little to me how you plan your little war as long as I get my five thousand American dollars at the end of it."  
  
"Good," Selena said coolly. "Once we've sent the rest of the stragglers scurrying back to town, we can begin the blockade. I want men stationed here and here," she turned the map slightly towards him so he could see what she was talking about. Even though he had every characteristics of a liquor poisoned thug, Selena knew that Diaz had once been an acute intellect. As she watched him study the map before him, his eyes searching through the topography of the terrain, she could see that impressive intellect surface again.  
  
"These are your best points," Diaz pointed out the places where men should be posted and Selena seemed to agree. "What do you intend to tell people who try to pass?"  
  
"Well I think a good old fashioned diphtheria scare will do quite nicely." Selena said having thought of how she would keep travelers from avoiding Four Corners. Of course, this was by no means a full proof deterrent and for Diaz's men would take care of the visitors who were still determined to go to Four Corners despite the warning of a plague. "It won't keep everyone out but you would be surprised how these rural types react to the word 'quarantine'." Selena allowed herself a little smile. "I trust you and your men can handle things on their own while you and I take a little side trip."  
  
"What do you have in mind?" Diaz grinned at her salaciously.  
  
"The telegraph lines need to be cut." She declared firmly, ignoring his obvious attempt at flirtation. "I want a complete communication blackout. I don't want them trying to get outside help."  
  
"That would be unfortunate," Diaz replied. "I would fight them but something like this will almost certainly bring the army."  
  
"Well the military bureaucracy will take days to mobilize that action, unless they think Indians are involved. I estimate we have no more than six days possibly seven to get the job done. After that it gets risky and I don't believe in taking risks." Selena replied as she took note of the wagon containing the Freeman family finally pulling out onto the dirt track that would lead them to Four Corners. Their house was nothing more than a roaring pyre of flames, the fire having consumed the structure so completely that any hope of salvaging it was lost.  
  
"Suffice to say, by this afternoon, I want Four Corners cut off from the rest of the world. No one gets in and no gets out."

* * *

  
"Chris!"  
  
Chris Larabee staggered out of bed when he heard Mary's frantic cry. Senses fully alert even though a second ago he had been fast asleep, the gunfighter jumped out of bed and immediately reached for the gunbelt slung across the bedpost. Such awakenings were customary for Chris and he wasted no time as he retrieved his pants and somehow managed to make it down the stairs while donning the garment on at the same time. He rebuked himself for sleeping in so late and knew that at some point soon he was going to have to re-evaluate his sleeping habits.  
  
With his gun in hand, he knew immediately that his wife had been in her office when she had uttered that frightened cry and wasted no time proceeding to the series of rooms that made up the premises of the Clarion News. Chris entered her office to find the situation to be not as urgent as he had anticipated, although it was no less important. As he cast his gaze on Casey Wells whom Mary was standing over with eyes full of concern and worry, he understood why Mary had been so vocal in her summoning.  
  
Covered in dirt and mud, Casey was breathing hard as she continued to sip from the glass of water that Mary had offered, requiring a refill when she had drained it. Her hands were shaking and there were twigs and leaves in her hair as she sat on the chair in front of Mary's desk. Her clothes were ripped in places and she looked as if she had been through some yet to be disclosed ordeal. Even her feet were bare and the soles of her feet were covered with cuts and scratches, indicating that however she had come into town, she had done so on foot and Chris felt his anger rise at what could possibly induce the girl to make the journey like this.  
  
"Chris, some men turned up at Nettie Wells' place early this morning," Mary explained because Casey was still too distraught to make a coherent sentence. She was still shaking like a leave and made Chris wonder what in God's name had happened to the girl to reduce her to this quivering mess of overwhelming emotions. The most obvious answer that came to mind was the one he suppressed immediately and hoped he was wrong.  
  
"Men?" Chris looked at the girl.  
  
"There were a lot of them!" Casey suddenly vocalized her fear enough to speak She slammed the glass against the desk, spilling some of its contents on the smooth surface and on her clothes. While she had recovered enough to speak, Chris could tell from the tremor in her voice that she was far from better. "Aunt Nettie told me to run. I didn't want to leave her but she made me go!" Casey exclaimed, her voice rising in pitch as she spoke. "I told her to let me stay and help but she wouldn't listen! She just told me to git!" She broke down and hated that she was so weak. Casey did not want to cry in front of Chris Larabee but her ordeal had finally reached breaking point inside of her. When the warm tears spilled down her cheeks, leaving streaks across her dirt covered face, Casey was hardly aware of them.  
  
"You did the right thing," Mary said with that soothing tone of voice that could drive away the demons inside anyone by the sheer strength of her belief. Leaning over, Mary wrapped her arms around the girl as Casey descended into fresh tears.  
  
"Can you tell me who they were?" Chris questioned gently, knowing it was not wise to push her too far. Obviously, Casey had barely escaped herself if her appearance was any indication of what had she had endured.  
  
"I couldn't hear them." Casey swallowed and took a moment to compose herself before lifting her head from Mary's shoulder and dried her tears because it would do her no good to cry like some silly girl, especially when Aunt Nettie was still out there. "But Aunt Nettie said they sounded like Mexicans."  
  
"Mexican?" Chris looked at Mary in confusion. It was an awfully long way from the border to have Mexican bandits running loose across the countryside creating chaos. "Go on," he urged her. "Tell me what happened." He asked, seeing now that Casey was in the mind to answer questions.  
  
"We heard them coming towards the spread and Aunt Nettie didn't want me to be in the house when they came. She told me to get running, to get help." She explained, her lips quivering in a valiant attempt to keep herself from descending into more tears. "I got out through the back but then I heard gunshots, I think Aunt Nettie tried to fire at them. Then they fired I think." The possibility that Nettie may have come to serious harm was apparent by the desolate look in her eyes.  
  
Casey paused again, recouping her strength after that particular revelation, forcing away the unpleasant thoughts that came with the telling of the tale. After a moment, she continued, swallowing away her distress as she began speaking. "I went back to look and see if she was okay but then I remembered what Aunt Nettie said about getting help so I left again, only then one the men caught up to me. He tried to. ." She could not bring herself to say it even though what had transpired was obvious by the disgust in her voice.  
  
Mary's expression darkened as she squeezed the young girl's shoulder in support, telling Casey with a look that she need not continue if she did not want to. Chris had more than enough information to proceed as it was. "I managed to get away." She swallowed and continued with her tale. "I kept to the woods and hid my tracks. They didn't follow me for long after that."  
  
Chris was hardly surprised. Whoever these men were, they had the sense to know Casey knew how to navigate through the woods around her home better than any of them could ever hope to do in their attempt to pursue her. Besides, despite her fragile state of mind at present, Chris knew that the girl was much more resilient then they knew. Casey knew her way across the terrain, particularly the parcel of land where she had spent most of her life.  
  
"Casey!" J.D.'s voice called out as the front door to the office swung open.  
  
"I sent Billy to find him," Mary informed Chris quickly as the young man strode into the office and froze at the sight of Casey in her disheveled state. Behind him were Buck and Nathan whose expressions of shock seemed to concur with J.D.'s present feelings.  
  
"J.D.!" She said with renewed life as she broke from Mary and ran into his arms.  
  
"Casey, what happened to you?" He demanded, his heart pounding at he thought someone might have harmed her. She looked like she had literally been put through hell and there was going to be a terrible reckoning when he caught up with those responsible for his Casey looking like this.  
  
"J.D., let Nathan have a look at Casey," Chris ordered as the healer also stared with Casey in concern. Nathan had brought his healer's bag with him, having retrieved it from his infirmary when Billy had sought them out at the jailhouse with the news that Casey was hurt.  
  
"I'm fine," Casey said as she parted from J.D. who did not seem very reluctant to let her go. Chris could understand that. If someone had done this to Mary, he would not be eager to leave her side although he would make an exception, long enough to rip out the heart belonging to the person who had done this to her.  
  
"Best let me take a look anyway," Nathan said leading her back to the chair, always adept at handling difficult patients after having to deal with his friends for so long. J.D. lingered close to her, unwilling to let her out of his sight and yet, Chris could see his jaw set in the way the gunslinger had come to recognize as the younger man's attempt to restrain his baser instincts, in this case, his extreme rage.  
  
"What happened?" Buck asked quietly as he approached Chris and Mary.  
  
"She just stumbled into the office a few minutes ago," Mary explained in a similarly hushed voice as the trio stepped away and allowed Nathan to conduct his examination of Casey with J.D. in attendance. "Half hysterical. Some men had turned up at the Wells' place."  
  
"Mexicans," Chris replied, unable to fathom why any bandits would trouble themselves to come so far north to raid a widow who was barely making ends meet with her farm. There was not enough on the property to make it worth their while. "Bandits I guess."  
  
"Bandits?" Buck seemed just as confused at that, most likely because he had come to the same conclusions as Chris.  
  
In any case, there was no time to lose. They could debate the motives later. Right now, they had to reach Nettie. "Buck, go get the others ready to ride, I'll meet you in front of the saloon in ten minutes," Chris instructed. "We need to get out to Nettie's and hope that we ain't too late."  
  
"I'm on it." Buck nodded and Chris turned to Nathan. "Nate, we going to need you with us on this one. Mary, do you think you could get Alex to take care of Casey?"  
  
"I'm fine, Chris." Casey protested, feeling somewhat embarrassed at all the attention. She was feeling better now that J.D. was here.  
  
"For me Casey," J.D. spoke up and flashed her an imploring look. "Please?"  
  
"Okay," she frowned, realizing for J.D. she would endure a doctor's probings.  
  
"You rest easy now," Nathan responded as he rose to his feet. Although she was probably bruised and covered with scratches, Nathan did not think that Casey had suffered any permanent injury. It was her state of mind that had suffered more than her body and like Chris, Nathan believed Casey to be more resilient than she let on. Julia Pemberton had once said that women liked to feign weakness for the benefit of their men, he wondered if the same could be said for Casey. "It's probably a good idea if we do have Miss Alex look at her." He added, just to be sure.  
  
"I'll send for Alex," Mary announced and took J.D.'s place at Casey's side since the young man was needed to deal with the brewing crisis. J.D. was soon following Buck and Nathan out the door.  
  
"Casey," J.D. said as he paused briefly on his way out. "We'll bring Nettie back safe," he smiled trying to inject as much confidence in his youthful face as he could possibly muster. "I promise."  
  
Chris said nothing but he hoped it was a promise they could keep.

* * *

  
As planned, the seven were soon riding towards Nettie's property after Chris had properly attired himself and had joined his companions. Chris had quietly given Buck instructions to stay close to J.D., knowing how reckless the boy could get when he was properly inspired. Unfortunately, J.D. had yet to learn how to make anger work for him and while some men used aggression to sharpen their skills, in J.D.'s case, the kid got clumsy and that could get him killed. If Casey was right about the number of men who had converged on the homestead, then it would require every one of the seven to make the confrontation work in their favour. In the meantime, Chris kept a similar vigil over Vin Tanner, whose feelings for Nettie Wells made his emotions almost an unpredictable as J.D.'s at the moment.  
  
"I was under the impression that our neighbors south of the border do not often come this far north to do their plundering. If I am not mistaken, they usually prefer border towns where it is easy for them to flee the law on either side if they are discovered." Ezra remarked as they galloped at a rapid pace down the familiar trail leading to Nettie's.  
  
"We can shake it out of the bastards when we find them," Vin said with uncharacteristic venom, reminding Chris just how volatile the tracker could be when his ire was properly raised.  
  
"Take it easy," Chris warned, wanting Vin to keep a cool head although unlike J.D. who was clumsy when he was mad, Vin was the other extreme. The tracker had a mean streak in him a mile across when someone he cared for was hurt. Chris recalled how Vin had almost killed Randall Mason and Francis Lamont with his bare hands when both had on different occasions threatened Alexandra Styles.  
  
"Hey look," Buck said as he looked up in the sky and a cloud of billowing dark smoke, rising from the top of the trees into the morning blue. "It's a fire."  
  
Vin looked at the direction it was coming from and clenched his jaw in reaction. He shot Chris a glare as if defying the gunslinger to tell him that the smoke was not coming from where he suspected it did. Unfortunately, Chris could not give him that reassurance because he believed the same thing. The approximate distance and direction of the fire were just about right.  
  
It was coming from Nettie's place.  
  
Both Vin and J.D. surged ahead almost simultaneously, leaving the others behind as they dug their heels into their mounts and sent the animals racing forward in a small cloud of dust. Chris swore under his breath as he saw the two men disappear up the track, leaving them behind. "Vin!" Chris shouted, appealing to the man he had come to rely upon like a brother knowing that it was pointless trying to stop him. Besides, if that fire was any indication of what had happened at Nettie's, then chances were good that they had missed whatever had taken place at the widow's property and there would be nothing left to do but pick up the pieces.  
  
"We better go after them," Josiah commented.  
  
"You're not wrong," Buck agreed and kicked his heels into the flank of his horse, propelling the creature ahead and did not look back to see if the others had joined him. Instinctively, Buck knew they would be there as they always were, even when two of them lost their head and rode into a potentially perilous situation. J.D. was itching to get his hands on the men who had tried to harm Casey while Vin was so concerned about Nettie's welfare he was not thinking straight either. In no time at all, he heard Chris' horse thundering alongside of him, joined by Nathan, Ezra and Josiah. The five men continued up the trail, creating a cloud of dust that looked very dramatic as they galloped forward, resembling something that had charged from the ranks of the light horse brigade. They need not have travelled very far when they saw Vin and J.D. coming to a halt near a wagon. The two lawmen were talking to a man Chris soon recognized as Robert Freeman upon their approach. Freeman and his family seemed visibly distressed and it was only when they were a few yards away from the wagon, did Chris understand why Vin was wearing a look of grim expression while J.D. appeared to be confused. Freeman and his family were not even dressed for their morning excursion. The family appeared to be in their nightclothes, as if they had been forced out of their beds.  
  
"Chris, you better listen to this," Vin said as the others reached him. There was no trace of the unreasonable anger in his voice as he regarded the gunslinger. Instead, Vin had calmed down upon realizing that the danger was much larger than any of them had originally perceived. He was once again the man that Chris relied upon so deeply.  
  
"What happened to you, Robert?" Josiah asked, well acquainted with the Freemans who were church-going folk. He had met them on the occasions when the family had come into his old church, sometimes to ask for advice, sometimes to merely sit inside a house of God since a real church did not exist in Four Corners yet.  
  
"These bastard Mexicans!" Freeman exclaimed, full of anger at seeing everything he had worked for burnt to the ground with almost clinical precision. "A whole band of them!" The farmer swore angrily.  
  
"These guys get around," Nathan commented. "Are you folks all right?" The healer inquired, unable to tell if any of them needed medical attention even though they all seemed visibly distressed.  
  
"They didn't hurt us!" The farmer replied angrily although he aimed not at his rage at the healer or his polite inquiries. Freeman was by nature a rather pleasant man and the seven had chanced to come across his from time to time as it was expected in a small town. "They told us we had to get out of the house and get to Four Corners or we would get hurt!"  
  
"How many of them were there?" Chris asked, getting more perplexed by the pattern of behavior of these so-called Mexican bandits.  
  
"About ten of them." The farmer answered. "They came to the house, dragged us out of bed and told us to leave. I would have told them to go to hell but I have to think about my kin." He glanced at his red nosed wife who appeared to have been weeping if her red and swollen eyes were any indications of that fact.  
  
"Did they even take anything?" Ezra inquired, as puzzled as the rest of the seven why Mexican bandits would be chasing a family out of their home in the small hours of the morning. Freeman had little money, in fact like Nettie, he was living nowhere comfortably.  
  
"Just the horses and the livestock," his wife answered as Freeman's anger overwhelmed him for the moment and the seven saw him attempting to compose himself. "They said they could use those. They us keep one horse so we could hitch it to the wagon and get back to town." She said ruefully. "They just ran us out of the house like we was less nothing and once we were out, they burned it down. They set everything alight," she started to sob once again, as she realized that apart from the land they still owned, they were more or less destitute. "The house, the barn, even the shack! Everything! We've lost everything!" She wailed.  
  
"We still got each other," Freeman said softly. "I don't know what they wanted," he looked up at Chris because Chris was the recognized leader of the seven. Freeman's anger seemed to have dissipated in the face of his wife's distressed and he addressed the gunslinger with a more sober tone. "They just chased us out of our home and told us to go to Four Corners. They were Mexicans but there was a white woman with them."  
  
"A woman?" Predictably Buck spoke up and Chris rolled his eyes and asked himself secretly why it did not surprise him that the question would come from Buck.  
  
"Real fancy looking thing," Freeman commented as he recalled the lady in particular. "I know it sounds crazy but there were taking their orders from her." The farmer related, hoping that the scant information he had gathered form his observations could help the seven in finding out why someone who set out to intentionally take everything he and his family had worked so hard to build.  
  
"You get back to town," Chris instructed having absorbed enough information to decide that for the moment anyway, the Freemans had enough of an ordeal without his keeping them from Four Corners. "If they're out here, we'll find them."  
  
"You'll find them alright," Freeman grumbled as he took up the reins to the wagon. "I get the impression they don't intend to be leaving."  
  
The lawmen moved their horses aside as the wagon rumbled past them and continued its journey to Four Corners. No sooner than Freeman was out of earshot, Chris turned to Vin who seemed a little more settled and focused now that he had heard Freeman's story. Nettie's home may be burning but at least they knew that these men did not have murder on their agenda for the moment at least.  
  
"Are they attempting to wage some kind of campaign of terror?" Ezra speculated as he watched the wagon disappear down the meandering corner of the trail leading to town.  
  
"It would be the first time I heard of bandits doing this," Chris replied. "Bandits are not interested in causing trouble unless they get something out of it."  
  
"Let's get moving!" Vin barked, urging the others to forget their ruminations for the moment. Although it now appeared that Nettie might not have been hurt, he knew the old lady was as feisty as they come and he knew what kind of a struggle she would put up to keep someone from destroying something as dear to her heart as her home.  
  
No one questioned that order and the seven continued riding towards the source of the billowing smoke. The smoke had started to diminish slightly in the sky and Chris guessed that this might be attributed to the fire having nothing else to burn now that it had completely consumed the house. When they arrived at Nettie's, Chris discovered that unhappily, he was right. There was nothing left to burn.  
  
The house where all of them had one time or another, shared dinners at Nettie's table was nothing more than a pile of burning rubble. The fire had decimated the house beyond any point of recovery. Only the red-hot stones of the chimney stack had managed to remain erect. Everything else was a collection of smoldering rubble and debris, burning itself out as the fire ate it into nothingness. Vin's jaw tightened seeing the place in such a state and felt fresh anger bubble inside of him because it had been more than a house to him, Nettie had invited him into her home and made Vin feel a part of it.  
  
"Oh, Jesus," Buck whispered as they saw the barn that had been similarly destroyed. The structure, though larger than the house had burnt faster, the flames had probably made the hay inside it ignite like a Roman candle. The resulting conflagration had been reduced it to cinders.  
  
"Nettie!" J.D. cried out as he spotted the widow first. She was lying on the ground not far from the main house, her face in the dirt as she lay unmoving. Both Vin and Nathan dismounted at almost the same time, both lawmen filled with their own purpose as they hurried towards the old woman. Chris watched the scene before him and tried not to let the burning wood and smoke get to him. If there was one thing the gunslinger did not like, it was fire and the effects of it.  
  
That morning when he and Buck had returned from Mexico, Chris had been greeted with a scene that did not look too unlike this. After how Sarah and Adam had died, Chris had developed quite a phobia about such scenes. Even when he climbed off his horse, Chris tried to avoid casting his eye on the scene of destruction, concentrating instead on Vin's advance towards Nettie.  
  
The tracker reached the old woman first, with Nathan following closely behind. "Nettie!" Vin called out as he rolled her unconscious form on to his lap when he knelt down beside her. Immediately, Nathan converged on them both. The healer wasted no time checking for a pulse even though why she was unconscious was evident by the matted blood stains on the corner of her forehead.  
  
"She's alive," he announced for the benefit of the others who were just as concerned over her welfare as Vin who was cradling her in his arms, holding her head on his lap as he let Nathan examine her. Upon his announcement, Vin let out a sigh of relief.  
  
"She's been knocked out good," Nathan added, his fingers gently examining the concentration of blood on Nettie's skull, trying to discern if the injury was any worse than he estimated.  
  
"I do not like these men," Ezra said trying to hide his own anger. He liked Nettie Wells even though both viewed each other with a begrudging respect. She always thought of him as a southern dandy and had no reservations of calling him that to his face while Ezra had retaliated by describing her a wizened old crone, with both perfectly aware that the insults were delivered with warm affection. "These are animals who would attack old women."  
  
"I don't get it," Josiah said voicing the bewilderment they all felt over the strange manner of these unprovoked attacks, not just on Nettie but also on Robert Freeman. "Why attack Nettie and let Freeman go?" He asked no one in particular but got an answer promptly from Vin.  
  
"Because Nettie would fight tooth and nail before she let anyone burn down her home," Vin answered and no one could argue with that since they all knew the tenacity of the woman before them.  
  
"Yeah," J.D. agreed, knowing how determined Wells women could be from his experiences with Casey alone. He thanked God that Nettie had the sense to send Casey away when the danger had first presented itself. If he knew Casey at all, she would have stood her ground next to Nettie, determined to protect her own and end up in even worse condition than her aunt was presently in. "Nettie would not have let them do this without a fight which is probably how she wound up like this."  
  
It was about an accurate a statement as any Chris had heard today and he was about to ask Nathan about the condition of the woman when suddenly, his gaze caught sight of something. It was more an afterthought at the edge of his perception but snagged his attention the moment he noticed it. Chris shifted his gaze to the south at the something that was just beyond his line of vision, determined to know what it was, now that it was tangible in his awareness. Chris turned away from the others who were surrounding Nettie and went to investigate it. He had not taken more than a step when he stomach hollowed.  
  
It was another fire! Chris did not speak as he drifted away from the others, his intense gaze capturing the column of smoke billowing in the distance. Nettie's place was situated on the top of a hill and during their ascent to reach it, the slope had hidden the evidence of the other fire beneath the crest of its rise. However, now that they had reached its uppermost elevation, the other fire was no longer concealed behind it and lay before anyone who dared to look.  
  
"Vin," Chris asked, not looking at the tracker as he took a step towards his latest discovery. "Who owns the other property around here?"  
  
"Bartell," Vin replied, unaware yet of what discovery Chris had just made. The tracker was too intent on observing what Nathan was doing to rouse Nettie from her state of unconsciousness. "Why?" He asked and looked up briefly before the answer seared through his mind before Chris could even say it.  
  
"Shit!" Buck exclaimed horrified. "Don't tell me they've gone after Bartell too?" The big man said following Chris' gaze and making the same discovery.  
  
"That's three!" J.D. declared, stating the obvious. "Why are they going after everyone?" The youngster demanded confused and Chris could appreciate his dilemma because this entire morning was developing into a puzzle of Olympian proportions.  
  
"Vin, you, J.D., Josiah and Nathan stay here," Chris ordered as he spun around and strode to his horse. "Buck, Ezra, you're with me. Is Bartell alone down there?" Chris asked Vin as they neared the horses.  
  
"No," Vin shook his head, feeling his blood run cold as he spoke. "He's got a wife and a teenage daughter."

* * *

  
When they arrived at Bartell's, the same scene that had greeted them at Nettie's seemed transposed onto the homestead of the Bartell property. Like before, the house had been razed to the ground although the fire had not completely burnt itself out. A few beams and the stone hearth of the fireplace remain standing but everything else was more or less destroyed. Amongst the rubble, they could see the burnt out remnants of an organ and a protrusion of charred wood that might have been the back of a chair.  
  
Bartell's home was larger than Nettie's but the fire spared nothing as all that remained of the house were burned out support beams that were starting to buckle as the fire did its worst on the integrity of its structure. However, it was not the fire that captured the attention of the lawmen when they rode up the path towards the house. Unfortunately, while Nettie had managed to escape with her life, the same could not be said for her neighbor. It did not take them long to find William Bartell or his family because the man was sprawled on the ground before what would have been the front garden of the house, very much dead. His wife, a doughy looking woman was clinging to their seventeen-year-old daughter, wrapping the girl in her arms as they wept in tandem. However, the girl's weeping seemed more disconsolate and the shattered expression on her face answered all their questions regarding what had taken place here. Both mother and daughter looked up at the lawmen with teary eyes when they approached and Chris glanced instinctively at Buck because if there was one crime that his old friend abhorred the most, it was rape. Judging by the scene before them, Bartell had probably died trying to protect his daughter from that terrible fate and failed.  
  
Chris felt a new hatred for the men responsible for this and made a secret oath to nail their slimy hides to the wall when he found them.  
  
Buck dismounted first and approached Mrs. Bartell. Both Chris and Ezra held back unconsciously because they knew for all his juvenile behavior, Buck had a knack of getting people to trust him that was almost uncanny. His manner was warm and seemed to reach out to those who needed a comforting shoulder to lean on. Chris could personally attest to how approachable Buck could be since if anyone else had attempted to help him after Sarah and Adam's death, they would have likely had a bullet put through their head for their audacity to try.  
  
"Ma'am," Buck said gently as he cautiously approached the woman who was staring at him with wide eyes. Trying to make no sudden moves to frighten them any more than they already were, Buck could see the lingering effects of their traumatic experience in their terrified faces. No doubt after their ordeal, it was difficult to trust anyone, least of all a man. Although Mrs. Bartell did not know him personally, Buck had seen the woman around town and gathered the same must be said for her as well.  
  
"We're here to help." He tried to assure her as he neared.  
  
"Help!" Mrs. Bartell screamed in indignation and fury as the dam of her silence broke and she grew animated with the horror of what had happened to her family. "Where were you!" She sobbed loudly, tears running down her crimson cheeks. "Where were you when they came and they did this to my poor Elizabeth!"  
  
Buck looked at the girl helplessly who had not looked up at him but could be heard by her consistent sobs in her mother's arms. Buck did not need to ask what had happened, he could see the bruises through the ripped sleeves of her nightdress and there was a blood leaving stark indicators of the violence inflicted upon her, against the soiled white fabric. Buck was certain that she was hiding more injuries in her huddled form than what he could see but he made no attempt to touch or approach her. In her fragile state of mind, it would only push her deeper into the abyss of her despair. Buck wished Alex was here. He remembered how the doctor had been with Inez when the woman he loved had endured this same ordeal. Buck knew that only Alex or another woman could say the words that Elizabeth needed to hear right now.  
  
"I'm sorry ma'am," Buck whispered quietly. "We didn't know. We came as fast as we could. Can you tell us how long they've been gone?" He asked, trying to make her understand that no one wanted this to happen to this young girl, that they would have stopped it if they could.  
  
Behind him, Chris and Ezra were examining Bartell's body. Considering what they had been through, Chris thought it best if not too many of them crowd the two women at this time. Besides, Chris needed more information as to what had happened here because it was the details of it that would help them the most. Upon close scrutiny, the gunslinger and gambler came to the same realization that Bartell had been shot with a rifle at point-blank range. The bullet would have killed him almost instantly as it just about tore his chest apart. The corpse was still warm which indicated that his killers had not left too long ago. There was still a chance to track them down.  
  
However, when Chris and Ezra cast their gaze on the smoldering remains of the house, the barn, and stables that were in a similar state of incendiary decay, Chris came to a most disturbing conclusion.  
  
"We have a problem, Mr. Larabee," Ezra spoke up first, his erudite voice sounding terribly ominous as he maintained eye contact with the flaming pyre of wood that used to be someone's home.  
  
"Yeah, we do." Chris agreed with a slight nod.  
  
"Exactly how many of them are there?" The gambler asked. "Judging by what is before us, they would have had to have ridden all over the place to set these alight and yet, this inferno is burning at the same rate of progression as the fire at Mrs. Wells's property. Unless the laws of nature have been circumvented through some means which I am unaware, these fires would have had be have been ignited at almost the same time."  
  
"From three different places," Chris answered, having been focused on that particular conundrum during the past few minutes himself. "Casey said that there was a lot of them at Nettie's and Freeman said the same about his place."  
  
"Ten," Buck announced his arrival by declaring firmly when he reached them. He had been listening to their conversation when he had left Mrs. Bartell and Elizabeth. While he had not heard all of the discussion, he had garnered enough to make a contributory statement of his own. "She says that there were about ten of them."  
  
"That is a confirmed number of almost twenty men." Ezra declared grimly. As a gambler, he had no taste for beating the odds, no matter how challenging it might be. Even with the seven of them, facing twenty men was nothing to take lightly.  
  
"We don't know exactly how many there were at Nettie's," Chris reminded Ezra and effectively made the whole estimation null and void. "I would say more than twenty."  
  
"Jesus," Buck said in a hushed voice, not liking at all how ominous this all sounded. "There's an army of Mexican bandits somewhere out there?"  
  
"More or less," Chris nodded grimly and came to a decision of what needed to be done. "We need to get back to town immediately." The gunslinger raised his eyes and declared. "We're going to need help."

* * *

  
The seven returned with Nettie and the Bartells to find that the town of Four Corners was in a state of chaos. As they rode into the main street, there seemed to be a rumble of discontent moving through the town as folks were scurrying up and down the boardwalk, urgency in their manner and fear in their eyes. With what they had seen so far, Chris shuddered to think what new calamity had been visited upon the community while they had been out of town. It was bad enough knowing that there was a substantial group of murdering bandits roaming the local vicinity without having some other situation emerging on top of all that.  
  
Whatever it was that was making the townsfolk so apprehensive was definitely like threatening as Chris spied men loading guns, brandishing guns and other firearms in an attempt to defend themselves. Women were scarce and few on the street as most opted to stay indoors and the general atmosphere was so thick with tension that even Chris was starting to feel affected by the wave of paranoia. As they rode towards Alex's clinic to deliver Nettie and Elizabeth Bartell, Mary appeared on the street from the Clarion's office and hurried to them as they rode past.  
  
"What's going on around here?" Buck asked in rising apprehension as he saw the pandemonium of terrified faces scrambling about around them.  
  
"The bandits that attacked Nettie are everywhere!" Mary exclaimed as she paused near Chris' horse and looked up at him with fear in her blue-grey eyes. "They've attacked every property outside of town! We've had people coming in here all morning. Alex is setting up the injured in the new school; there isn't enough room in her clinic! Nathan, she's going to need your help. I don't think she can manage it alone."  
  
"I'm on my way there." Nathan who was sitting at the head of a wagon they had found and were used to carrying Nettie and the Bartells replied firmly with a tone that told Chris they would have to make do without him for a while. The healer immediately snapped the reins and startled the horses into trotting forward as he broke away from the others, making his way to the new schoolhouse where he could assist Alex to deal with the sudden influx of patients.  
  
Chris looked around and saw the fearful faces of the townsfolk and realized that something was happening here that was reducing this town to utter panic. Mexican bandits selecting one particular town for a reign of terror was beyond his experience, let alone believe. "Mary, I want you to wire the Eagle Bend and Sweet Water, we need some help down here," Chris said firmly, deciding that was the best course of action for now. With so many people in town who had access to guns, paranoia and fear might cause them to see danger where there was none and create a situation that could deteriorate very fast if confidence in the law was not restored.  
  
"The wire is down." Mary quickly responded, having already made the attempt to wire the Judge when the first wagons started rolling into town with their tales of terror.  
  
"What do you mean down?" Vin asked, not liking this one bit and guessing the same could be said of Chris if the stony expression on the gunslinger's face was anything to go by.  
  
"Franklin thinks they've been cut," Mary confessed reluctantly. "I think fear is making him guess. It could be anything." She said quickly, refusing to let her fear get to her and making her see phantom enemies that would only make things worse.  
  
"Yes it could," Chris agreed but did not believe that for one second. Too many things were happening in town all at once and Chris did not believe in coincidences. Not today. "But it seems like awful good timing for something like this to come to ahead right this moment."  
  
"Or the greatest example of coincidence I have ever chanced to experience," Ezra added, voicing the skepticism they all felt at this sudden turn of events.  
  
Chris thought quickly, supposing for a moment that if the telegraph lines were intentionally cut then the stage was being set for something else to take place. As he let his gaze sweep across Four Corners in its descent into anarchy, taking careful note of the wagons and horses that flanked the street. Most of these belonged to owners who had been forced off their land by the bandits and driven into town for the lack of anywhere else to go. An idea suddenly flared inside his mind and he turned sharply to Mary. "Mary, the people who came in. Where they sent to Four Corners?"  
  
"I don't understand." His wife looked up at him in confusion; unable to comprehend why he would think that they were. Why would they need to be sent, where else could they go for refuge?  
  
"Did the bandits chase them out of their homes and tell them to go to Four Corners." He insisted, the tension in his voice making the others riding with him equally interested in the answer.  
  
Mary thought about the differing accounts she had received from those who had been filtering into town all morning, trying to sift through the frantic words and cries of despair at having lost everything to seek out the information he required because she sensed its importance. Chris did not ask pointless questions and this one was no exception. After a few seconds of deliberation, her eyes met his again. "Yes," she nodded, confounded at why this would be. "The bandits told them to go to Four Corners."  
  
"Shit!" Chris swore out loud, displaying more raw emotion than was normal for him. Vin and the others felt the anticipation of something ominous in Chris's manner because nothing fazed their leader with such intensity. If Chris was this worried, then the conclusion he had reached, drove home to the rest of the seven and Mary as well, just how tenuous the situation was, if it could have the power to unhinge Chris Larabee.  
  
"What is it pard?" Vin asked, feeling the knot in his stomach tighten further because he recognized the genuine apprehension in the eyes of a man who rarely feared anything.  
  
"They're corralling us," Chris said suddenly. "They've driven out the folk from the outer properties into town and they've cut off the telegraph lines." He saw their expressions change from mere concern to all-out shock. "They're cutting us off." He stated with absolute belief that he was right.  
  
"Why?" Mary exclaimed in horror, thinking that this was something that happened at a time of war, not in small towns that mean nothing to anyone except those who lived there. "What is the point of that? We could still leave town and get out. To box us in like that would mean they'd have to blockade every pass that leads out of town.." Her voice trailed away when she realized that was the awesome conclusion Chris had arrived upon. "Oh my God."  
  
"Ezra," Chris turned to him. "You, J.D. and Josiah start riding now. These bandits have been mighty busy this morning, they may not have had time to put that much of their plan into effect yet, its this is what they're planning. You need to get out before they pen us in. If you get through, go to Sweet Water or Bitter Creek. Tell them that Four Corners is under attack."  
  
"We shall depart immediately." Ezra nodded grimly.  
  
"One other thing," Chris called out to the trio as they nudged their horses into movement and trotted away from Vin, Buck and himself. "Don't be heroes any of you. If they have set up a blockade, don't try to go through them unless you are absolutely sure you can make it."  
  
"We won't." Josiah nodded, understanding to what Chris was alluding. The odds they were facing were not small ones. If there was something akin to a bandit army taking up position of around Four Corners like a ring of steel, it would be the most formidable force they had faced since fighting the Confederate renegades who had brought them together.  
  
Chris watched Ezra, J.D. and Josiah break into a gallop and ride out of town, kicking up dirt behind them as they thundered through the street. He hoped it was not too late but somehow, Chris had this bad feeling that it might be already. Whoever was pulling the strings behind this entire affair was doing it well and coordinating themselves with a better effort than Chris was in his efforts to catch up.  
  
"Mary," Chris looked down at his wife. "I want you to get all the men in town together." He instructed. "Get them armed and ready. We don't know what these bandits want but they're forcing everyone into town for a reason and we'd better be prepared for it when they show their hand. We'll be back later." He said pulling his horse away from her as he gestured for Vin and Buck to follow.  
  
"Wait!" Mary called out as he started to widen the gap between them. "Where are you going?"  
  
Chris straightened up in his horse and met the gazes of his friends before answering her. "To see what we're up against."

* * *

  
To find the bandits was easier than any of them believed once they knew where to look. Backtracking to Nettie's place since they did not have time to investigate earlier, the lawmen started scouring the terrain around the property. It did not take any more than a skerrick of time for Vin's expert tracking skills to soon detect traces of the riders who had destroyed Nettie's home. Nettie had been correct in her assumption of how many men had come riding into the homestead early that morning because Vin detected tracks belonging to at least six horses.  
  
It was a good thing that Nettie had forced Casey to escape or else nothing the girl would have done would have prevented her from falling prey to the same violation that Elizabeth Bartell had been subject to. The tracks were obscured over time but Vin had enough skill to ascertain in general which direction they were headed.  
  
"What do you think is going on?" Buck asked Chris as they started following the tracker as he followed the tracks before him.  
  
"I don't know," Chris replied honestly. "But I've got a real bad feeling about what's coming at us."  
  
Buck felt a shudder of ice run down his spine as he heard Chris talk that way.  
  
Chris was rarely so concerned about anything and the fact that he was now, made Buck worry about Four Corners and the loved ones who relied upon the seven to defend them. He felt a tightening knot in his chest when he realized that Inez and his child were in Four Corners. He did not know what was worse, the fact that he now had a family to worry about or the realization that he was happy to assume responsibility for their safety.  
  
"Maybe we ought to think about getting the women and children out of town." Buck volunteered. "After what happened to Bartell's daughter. It might be a good idea."  
  
"Not yet," Chris replied, understanding Buck's fear all too well. He did not like the idea of Mary and Billy being in danger any more than Buck was probably worrying about Inez and his baby right now but they were still only speculating on what they believed was happening. While the bandits were viciously attacking the families outside town, there was nothing to indicate that they had been responsible for the damage to the telegraph lines. "We need to know more first."  
  
"Hold it," Vin said quietly as they traveled through a strip of dense woods.  
  
How Vin was able to find anything in this tangle of branches, overhanging trees, scuffled marks in the dirt and bushes was beyond Chris Larabee's understanding at times. The tracker seemed to recognize familiarity in things that made absolutely no sense to him. Vin dismounted Peso after motioning the others to be silent and hold their ground.  
  
Vin disappeared through the bushes and continued ahead for a few hundred yards, observing the telltales signs that made sense only to him as he followed the tracks to its inevitable end. A broken twig here, a few scant traces in the dirt was all that he needed to seek out the ones who were turning Four Corners inside out. At first Vin's determination to find those responsible for what was done to Nettie a simple matter of cold revenge. The old lady was what Vin liked to imagine his mother might have been had she lived instead of passing on so early in his life. Nettie treated him like a son and thanks to her, he had some idea of what it was like to have a family and a home. Though he hardly spent enough time there to consider the place as such, Vin liked helping out whenever he could and it hit him almost as badly to see the place decimated.  
  
However, Chris' assertion that the bandits were after more than just one old woman's home had added a new urgency to the situation. If Four Corners was the real target then it was not just Nettie that was in trouble, it was everyone and by extension, the lives that the seven had built for themselves in town as also jeopardy. He could understand why the gunslinger was so willing for Ezra, J.D., and Josiah to get help when normally, Chris would insist upon handling things on their own. Chris' pride had to take second place to the more pressing issue of seeing the town survive this latest disaster.  
  
Vin started hearing voices as he started nearing the edge of the tree line. At first, they were faint and nondescript but as he continued following the tracks, the sounds grew louder and louder until he could out the melodic sound of voices laced with accents of Spanish. Vin reached for his gun, deciding to take no chances if the numbers of these bandits were anything like what Chris suspected them to be. Of course, if they caught sight of Vin and got it into their mind to catch him, a weapon would be the last thing that would get him out of their clutches, it would be his ability to blend into the terrain and disappear.  
  
The tracker emerged quietly out of the trees. His feet made no sound as it moved over the gravel surface and Vin dropped low to keep himself from being seen as he advanced upon the ravine at which he was soon poised upon its edge, looking downwards into the proceedings below. The voices he had followed here came from the encampment below and as Vin looked over the edge and stared into the heart of the enemy's territory, Vin Tanner came to one very firm conclusion.  
  
They were in a lot of trouble.

 


	4. Blockade

If Vin Tanner said that they were in trouble then Chris Larabee was smart enough to take him at his word. However, not even he had guessed just how much trouble the tracker was referring to when Vin led them to the ravine's edge where he had located the encampment of the so-called bandits. Peering into the depths of the chasm where the enemy was located, Chris could only stare grimly below at the odds they were facing. He counted almost thirty of them in the ravine itself although the number was decreasing steadily as groups of five or six departed at regular intervals. While the majority of the men below were Mexican, there appeared to be a few Caucasians in their ranks although it was rather obvious to the lawmen they were not bandits. They did not at all look like border scavengers and appeared to be well armed.  
  
The encampment was nothing more than a collection of tents but they had enough supplies and ammunition stored in the immediate vicinity to indicate that they were staying for a few days and could afford to extend that period of so decided. Chris scanned the length and breadth of the camp, trying to seek out who might be giving the orders or perhaps find some clue as to who was orchestrating this well-coordinated attack against the town. It did not take him any length of time to make out that determination as they could see the enemy swirling around one particular person throughout their observations.  
  
"Now, that is a very nice looking woman." Buck Wilmington commented as he saw the tall, mahogany haired siren walking through the encampment, barking orders at the men who were paying close attention to everything she was saying. While they seemed to regard her with salacious leers, they only displayed them after she had passed them by. Buck had the impression she would not take too kindly to being ogled and there was something about her manner that seemed menacing in a way he could not place. He had no doubt that she was formidable but there was more to it than just strength of character. Buck knew women and he had a feeling this one had a ruthless streak about her.  
  
"Oh, I can see you laying off the ladies for Inez." Vin drawled sarcastically but his attention, like of all of them, was fixated on the number of men present at the encampment.  
  
"Very funny." Buck frowned. "I wouldn't touch that girl with a ten-foot pole." He whispered quietly in his defense. "I have a feeling she'd be like a praying mantis."  
  
Vin looked at Buck and winced at the idea. "You're lucky they ain't all like that, there wouldn't be a piece of you left."  
  
"You're just jealous," Buck grumbled. "I'm still a free man."  
  
"Sure you are," Vin allowed a smile to cross his face. " _Dad_."  
  
"Fathering a child and being tied down are two different things..." Buck started to protest.  
  
"Will you two knock it off!" Chris hissed in disbelief, glaring at them with a look that made ice seem warm and temperate. When both men had returned to some semblance of maturity, Chris returned to the subject at hand. "That must be the woman Freeman saw," Chris commented, his gaze gesturing at the lady who was walking through the camp with an older man whose stride and manner told Chris a great deal with the kind of men they were dealing with.  
  
"The man with her is career military." He mused.  
  
"You sure?" Buck asked, studying the man more closely and being unable to see that determination.  
  
"Yeah," Chris nodded absolute in that estimation. "You can tell an ex-officer a mile away."  
  
"You would know," Buck remarked since Chris had spent much of the war wearing the Union blue as an officer.  
  
"You think they might be all ex-military?" Vin asked, disliking the idea very much. It was one thing to face bandits who would scatter at the first sight of trouble but if they had learned anything after their encounter with the Confederate renegades who were terrorizing Rain's village during the seven's first adventure, it was the power of loyalty. If the right man was leading the group, they would be willing to die for him and that did not bode well for either Four Corners or what they had to do. As it was, the net that was tightening around Four Corners' neck was as well planned as any military operation he had ever seen. The woman who took center stage was moving through the camp like a commander of the field.  
  
"That's a safe bet." Chris agreed, trying to decide how they were going to attack this problem. The last time an operation of this size had been mounted against Four Corners, Guy Royal and Stuart James had been responsible. It was not completely unreasonable that they would have the resources to hire this kind of help to solve the situation in Four Corners after their failure the last time.  
  
"What do we do Chris?" Buck found himself asking because he hoped Chris had some kind of plan to combat these odds.  
  
"Quiet," Vin said suddenly. Both men fell silent immediately and reached for their weapons. Vin rolled onto his back, his own fingers poised on the butt of his Winchester. He listened closely and heard the soft sounds the others had not detected but would soon enough.  
  
"Damn," Chris swore quietly, realizing how vulnerable a position they were in by selecting this as a look out point. With nowhere to go but down, if the bandits were coming as Vin now suspected, they would have to fight their way out to get to the horses again.  
  
"I think we're going to have company," Vin said and prompted the others to their feet.  
  
No sooner than those words had been spoken, the rustle of leaves from the tree line could be heard as well as the soft flutter of movement as the enemy advanced upon them. Deciding that he was not waiting until they emerged, Chris started shooting first, aiming high to make sure the first shots were merely ones of warning to prompt the withdrawal of the others.  
  
"Chris, what are you doing?" Buck shouted as Chris ran forward, guns blazing to make a path for his friends to follow. He had no intention of letting anyone get captured and was confident that if he kept a hail of bullets between himself and the advancing enemy, they might just make it to the horses. It was a crazy plan but save going down the ravine the hard way, it was the only way out of the tight spot they found themselves in.  
  
Vin did not waste time asking questions, deciding instead to keep one step behind Chris to offer the gunslinger cover. No doubt the entire gang knew they were up here now and like Chris, Vin understood the reason for desperate measures. They could hear frantic voices yelling at each other to get under cover, in their attempts to avoid the wall of bullets Chris was sending in their direction. With the added firepower of Vin's Winchester and Buck covering their backs as well, it did not take long before they had gained sufficient momentum to reach their horses, which thankfully were still there.  
  
"You are one insane son of a bitch." Buck gushed as they reached their mounts and quickly climbed onto the horses. For the moment, those who had attempted to ambush them were taken by surprise and in disarray but none of the lawmen was delusional enough to believe that they would not recover soon enough.  
  
"Whatever works." Chris retorted and climbed into his saddle with the first eruption of returning fire. A bullet whizzed past his ear and impacted in the side of a tree trunk, sending splinters of bark in all directions.  
  
"Let's go!" Vin shouted and started firing into the direction the bullet had almost taken Chris' ear off. The loud boom of the shotgun went some way to creating a pause in the firing that allowed the trio of lawmen to break away from the scene. They rode away from the place, hearing gunshots being sent in their direction with rapid succession. All three kept their heads down as they surged ahead, fleeing the range of the bullets flying towards their direction. Riding through the thick cover of trees, their progress out of the woods was slow with overhanging branches and obstacles of fallen tree trunks in their way. The gunfire ceased they further they drew away from the men who had been in pursuit.  
  
Suddenly Chris became aware that Buck was no longer behind them.  
  
"BUCK!" Chris shouted, trying to see where his old friend had disappeared behind him. "Vin, did you see where Buck went?" He called out to the tracker who was making similar attempts to detect Buck through the dense trees around them.  
  
"No!" Vin replied, hoping that Buck had simply gotten lost in the woods and was not in the hands of the bandits. "I'll backtrack!" He shouted at Chris.  
  
Chris was about to respond to his agreement when suddenly gunfire exploded again, only this time the shots came from the front. The gunslinger reacted swiftly, pulling his reloaded gun and shooting with rapid fire as Vin searched for an alternate way out of the woods. Bullets tore through the air like the bloated flies whizzing through the thick growth.  
  
"This way!" Vin called out to Chris as he found an almost indistinguishable trail through the tangle of vines and bushes. Digging his heels into Peso's side, the animal signaled its eagerness to escape the firefight by a short, approving neigh before launching itself into the path ahead. Vin looked over his shoulder and made sure that the gunslinger was behind him, determined not to lose Chris as they had lost Buck. For the moment, they had to concentrate on getting out of here before they could even think of finding Buck.  
  
"I'm right behind you!" Vin heard Chris cry as they thundered forward, moving through the growth. Vin navigated as best he could but knew that their pursuers were now on horse back for they were still trying to out pace the sound of gunfire and bullets. Chris was relying on Vin to lead them to safety and allowed the tracker to concentrate by firing into the thickest concentration of the gunfire that was pursuing them almost as doggedly as their masters.  
  
Suddenly Vin saw the plains peeked through the foliage and the tracker let out a sigh of relief at the realization that they would soon be in open space. They were nearing the line of trees when for some reason, Vin heard a gunshot that was louder than all the others. Instinctively, he looked over his shoulder to make sure Chris was still behind him that now that they were so close to escaping. Chris was still there but the gunslinger was slumped forward.  
  
"Shit!" Vin exclaimed realizing that Chris had been hit. He was still in the saddle because of the manner in which he was draped over his horse; it would take little more than another obstacle and he would be dislodged. The trees overhanging them suddenly disappeared as they broke through the trees and emerged into the plains just as Chris tumbled from the saddle.  
  
"Chris!" Vin shouted and immediately doubled back to reach him. As he approached, he saw Chris Larabee struggling to get up, the pain of his fall had roused him enough to realize that he needed to get up.  
  
Vin saw riders in the distance and knew that it was the bandits that were on fast approach towards them, however, there was no way in hell that Vin was going to abandon Chris for anything. Forcing Peso to make a swift turn, Vin galloped hard and fast toward the wounded gunslinger, hoping that he could reach Chris in time to spirit him away before the enemy reached them. Nearing the Chris, Vin realized how badly he was hurt as his hands were covered in blood and the slick patch of wet against the dark fabric of his shirt was actually glistening in the sun. Chris was scrambling to stand, his face contorted in pain as he fought to get upright. It was a battle he did not win when Vin saw the pain overtake Chris Larabee and the man crumbled to the ground.  
  
Vin more or less leaped off Peso when the horse reached Chris. The tracker skidded to his knees as he hurried to help his best friend whose blood was starting to pool on the dirt below him. The wound had entered through his back and had more or less blow out the left part of his chest. As Vin hauled him to his feet, Chris was grunting in pain and his breathing seemed ragged and shallow as if it was an effort to do so.  
  
"Come on pard," Vin said as he dragged Chris to Peso. "We gotta make tracks."  
  
"Get out of here." Chris managed to say through the gritted teeth of his pain. "You'll never get out of here with me."  
  
"Never happen pard," Vin more or less ignored the plea even though he was mindful of how close the approaching bandits were to them. "We're partners remember?" Vin spoke, just to keep Chris from slipping away to a place they would not be able to draw him back from. "I'm counting on you to make me responsible besides, I ain't ready to face your wife if I don't come back with you."  
  
Peso waited patiently as Vin placed Chris on his saddle and climbed back up himself. The riders were only a few hundred yards away and Vin realized how close this was going to be. Not wasting any time, he dug his heels in and Peso took off almost empathic in its realization that the need to escape was paramount at the moment.  
  
Out of nowhere, Buck Wilmington broke through the trees just as Vin and Chris started riding away. The lawmen exchanged fire with the approaching riders, keeping them back and widening their own margin of escape. Eventually, the gap between hunter and prey widened enough for Buck to consider them too far away to continue pursuing. Nevertheless, whatever victory had been achieved in that narrow escape was a hollow one for Buck had seen Chris on the back of Peso. Buck did not need to be told how imperative it was for them to return to Four Corners, all he had to do was see Chris riding with Vin to know that only a grievous injury would ever induce his old friend to give up his own animal.  
  
"How bad!" He asked as he finally caught up with Vin.  
  
"Bad enough," Vin replied and hoped to God that Ezra and the others were having a better time than they were.

* * *

  
Actually, if the truth were known, Ezra Standish and company were not having a good time.  
  
Not at all.  
  
When Chris had given them the instruction to get help, the trio that included himself, Josiah and J.D. had decided that the fastest route out of town was not necessarily the best one as an opposing force wishing to blockade the town may have that route cordoned first and foremost. Thus, they had opted for what at the time had seemed the most logical choice. The track they were taking had been introduced to them by Vin Tanner, it was rocky and uneven, recommended to only skillful riders for horses had a tendency to react to the jagged surface by throwing off the master who forced them to endure this path.  
  
"I wonder if Casey is alright?" J.D. mused as they traversed the unyielding terrain of rock on both side and the meandering path through the stone that dipped in a sharp incline. Despite the importance of the task Chris Larabee had set them, J.D. could not help but keep his thoughts far away from Casey and by extension. When they had found the Bartells, J.D. had been horrified to think that Casey had narrowly escaped the brutal attack that Elizabeth had been subjected to.  
  
"I reckon she is," Josiah said reassuringly, knowing that the boy's thoughts were not far from the girl he loved. "Alex and the others will keep a close eye on her."  
  
"Miss Well is much braver and resilient than she looks," Ezra added his own voice to support J.D.'s need for assurance. He could understand the boy's feelings on this matter. If it had been Julia in that position, he would have felt similar feelings of concern and anger. Although he had to admit, knowing his Julia, she would probably find some way to turn the situation to her advantage. For some reason, the love of his life had the luck of a feline with more than one life and seemed to always land on her feet the same way.  
  
Eventually, he was going to have to tell Maude about Julia.  
  
"I guess so," J.D. said taking some comfort in the fact that Casey had managed to escape those men on her own, without any help from him and make it all the way into town on foot. Deciding that a change of subject was in order to get the worry of her out of his mind, J.D. looked to his companions again. "Why do you think these bandits are after Four Corners?"  
  
Ezra and Josiah exchanged glances as they considered the question, although they were both thinking the same thing. It was Ezra who answered. "I believe Mr. Stuart James and Guy Royal might have the answer to your inquiry Mr. Dunne."  
  
"You think they'd be crazy enough to try and run off the town again?" J.D. exclaimed incredulously wondering just how much was enough before these men realized that the people of Four Corners did not scare easily. Especially, with the seven of them guarding the town and keeping it from harm. "We haven't heard a thing from them in ages. They've been quiet."  
  
"Like a cobra preparing to strike." Ezra retorted, not believing for a second that those two individuals would allow themselves to relinquish the power they held over this territory. The star of the cattle barons, though fading rapidly, still had enough influence to cause a great deal of discourse should they intend upon setting their mind on such a thing.  
  
"Old habits die hard," Josiah commented. "With the railroad coming, bringing more and more settlers, land is going to be mighty scarce. Four Corners is in the heart of their perceived base of power. Removing the town might delay the inevitable for some time."  
  
"But the railroad will still be coming." J.D. pointed out. "Even if the town ain't there, the railroad ain't gonna change its mind about building."  
  
"Yes," Ezra nodded slowly; admitting reluctantly that part of their conjecture was the riddle, which needed to be solved before everything else, fell into place. A glimmer on the edge of the rocks above him immediately froze any further response the gambler was about to make in his throat. Without missing a beat, he drew his gun, prompting Josiah and J.D. to do the same.  
  
"I think we have company," Ezra said quietly, his eyes skimming the rocky terrain around them, trying to see that same glimmer again.  
  
"Where?" Josiah asked in a soft whisper, trying to hear the sounds that might indicate life. They had taken this route because it was rarely used let alone known about by most, however, in utilizing the security of its anonymity, it was also a rather vulnerable place for an ambush and they were half their number. Less actually if one wanted to get specific about it.  
  
"Two o'clock, I believe is the correct description," Ezra said, his sea-colored eyes never moving from where he perceived his target to be.  
  
Like Josiah, he was aware of how exposed they were in this position. If the enemy decided to rain bullets on them at this moment from above, there was little they could do except return fire in the few minutes it would take for them to die.  
  
"We need to get out of here," Josiah commented and it was a statement with which Ezra was in complete agreement. "We're penned in like sheep." The preacher remarked as he nudged his horse forward to pick up the pace. It was not wise to hurry a journey through this terrain but the possibility of being thrown off the certainty of being shot was doing wonders for his reservations.  
  
"No argument from me," Ezra commented as he followed Josiah's lead and forced his own mount to hasten its advance out of the narrow space they had been traveling.  
  
"You think they've been waiting for us?" J.D. asked apprehensively as they rode out of the passage, the horses neighing their dislike at having to cross this expanse at such a rapid pace. They had not progressed more than a few meters when the firing began. The effect of bullets against stone had a deadly effect of ricocheting from one wall of rock to the other, tearing through that might be in its path, including the lawmen trying to flee the scene.  
  
"Damn!" Ezra swore as he felt hot lead graze past his shoulder in a flash of searing pain. Ezra managed to keep his hands on the reins and grit his teeth to force away the pain. It was not a serious injury but if he did not keep his mind on what he was doing, it would lead to another, which may not be as easy to tolerate.  
  
They did not have to ride very far when they saw a group of riders already waiting for them at the end of the passageway. Ezra swore, realizing that the bandits had been waiting for someone to make an attempt to reach Sweet Water or Bitter Creek by using this path and as Chris had suspected and hoped they might be able to breach before the net tightened around them fully.  
  
As they poured out of the narrow crevasse of rock, Ezra and Josiah realized that it was time to stand down for the moment. There were at least ten men waiting for them with possibly more that had yet to return from their position over the rocks where they had forced the lawmen out into the waiting arms of their comrades. J.D. was itching to fight and Josiah gave the young man a stern look telling him to desist. This was not the time. Strangely enough, as they emerged to meet the enemy face to face, Ezra noticed that the leader of the group was a woman. Probably the same female that Robert Freeman had mentioned earlier that day.  
  
The lady and her companions converged on the lawmen as soon as they were out of the crevasse, creating a circle of horses and steel that would prevent them from running should they decide to brave the guns poised over them if they tried to enter the canyon again. She was dressed in a burgundy suit that might be worn by Spanish gentlemen with the hat to complete the ensemble. Around her waist was a gun belt and judging by the stony expression she gave them all as she nudged her horse toward them, with her men keeping a vigilant eye on them, she knew how to handle the weapon.  
  
"I take it you are the gambler." She said in an icy voice.  
  
"I have been known to turn a card or two." Ezra retorted. "Unfortunately, you have me at a disadvantage. You are. ."  
  
"Not interested in telling you my name." She replied and turned to Josiah and J.D. "The preacher and the child."  
  
J.D. immediately set straight in his horse, not liking that description one damn bit. "I ain't no child." He blurted out before either Josiah or Ezra could stop him.  
  
"Do not take offense," she said with a faint smile. "You will certainly die like a man."  
  
"May I ask to what do we owe this intrusion?" Ezra inquired, tired of this bantering especially when his good jacket was being soiled with blood. "We were, after all, traveling peacefully out of town."  
  
"Unfortunately," the woman replied with no sign of malice in her voice even though everything about her implied it. "We would prefer that you remain in Four Corners for the time being. Consider all travel permits out of this locality rescinded."  
  
"I do not recognize your authority in this matter, Madam." Ezra returned, wondering why she was glaring at him with unmasked hatred. She was emanating hostility towards Josiah and J.D. but towards him, there seemed some thing personal in her emotions.  
  
"Recognize that I will have you shot if you try to pass and trust me, you will suffer a little more than a grazed shoulder when that happens. My men were rather restrained with their target practice earlier, do not presume to think I need you alive. Your continued existence is only because I require you to deliver a message to the rest of Four Corners, so do not attempt to make such foolish incursions again."  
  
"What's the message?" Josiah demanded, tired of this posturing.  
  
"No one leaves Four Corners. Any one who tries will be met with a more intense reception than you have received. Stay put until we are ready to negotiate."  
  
"Negotiate what?" J.D. said angered at the way this woman was talking to them and had called him a child. Especially, calling him a child.  
  
"Keep the boy silent," she retorted without even giving J.D. a further glance. "I need him alive less than I need you two."  
  
"J.D.," Josiah threw the young man a warning to be silent. J.D. forced away the swell of humiliation at her remark and knew that Josiah would not be telling him to be quiet unless it was absolutely necessary.  
  
"We have heard your message," Ezra said icily, disliking how she had degraded J.D. by her words and like the rest of the seven who felt protective towards the young man, wished he could give the woman her comeuppance. He had never hit a lady in his life but he was starting to wonder if it was not too late for him to learn. "If you give us our leave, we will go."  
  
"I knew you could be reasonable, Mr. Standish." She remarked, riding closer to him until she was almost in arm's reach of him. Ezra noticed the men around her were watching him intently, all passing warnings in their glares of what would happen if he made a move to harm her.  
  
"There is just one more thing," she said as she came up along side him.  
  
"And that would be?"  
  
Before he knew what had happened, the woman swung at him with a blow so swift, it caught Ezra on the jaw and toppled him off his horse. The gambler hit the dirt hard, uttering a small cry of pain when he landed on his wounded shoulder. Josiah and J.D. moved to help but were stopped when at least a dozen guns were unholstered and aimed firmly in their direction. The woman watched dispassionately as Ezra struggled to get on his feet, more confused than anything over this personal attack.  
  
"Tell Miss Pemberton, we are far from even." She said icily. "Before this is over, I'll have her head."  
  
Hearing Julia's name singled out drove Ezra to his feet and he found himself returning a warning of his own, even though he was in pain and covered with dirt. "You will never reach her to collect."  
  
The woman glared at him completely unperturbed by his remark. "When the time comes for that, you will not be around to stop me. Now get on your horse." She hissed.  
  
"Ezra, get on the horse," Josiah ordered when he saw the gambler preparing to retort. " _Now_."  
  
Ezra swallowed his anger and climbed back on his mount, prepared to continue this even if the odds were not so badly out of his favor and if it would not in the process end up getting Josiah and J.D. killed with him. He was almost tempted to see if he could play against the house. Once he was nestled back into the saddle, the woman withdrew to the ranks of her men.  
  
"You will return to Four Corners now but if you make one attempt to leave the area, my men will hunt you down and kill you. Do we understand each other?" Her eyes blazed with unfathomable callousness.  
  
"Yes," Josiah answered, being the only one who had kept his head during this entire encounter. "We understand each other clearly."  
  
As they started to ride back the way they came, her voice called out after them for a final jibe. "Oh, give my regards to Mr. Larabee, I hope he is soon feeling better."

* * *

  
Alexandra Styles wiped the sweat from her brow as she conducted the last step in the procedure to mend a broken arm. As she paused a moment to take a breath, the doctor let her gaze sweep across the floor of the new schoolhouse that had suddenly been transformed today into a makeshift hospital. Around her, the patients came with a variety of complaints, bullet wounds, broken limbs, a multitude of ill inflicted during their forced ejection from their homes by the mysterious bandits who had taken it upon themselves to inflict chaos in Four Corners.  
  
Between Alex and Nathan, the duo had been working most of the dead, tending injuries, while trying not to worry about their loved ones who had departed earlier in the day and had yet to return. Alex tried not to think about what Vin was up to and told herself that she ought to be accustomed to this by now. Every time he went riding off to face whatever danger that seemed to cross their path at every turn, Alex found herself harboring the secret anxieties of what would happen if he did not come back. Riding with the seven was part of who he was, just like the danger that always found them at regular intervals. For the most part, she dealt with it as best she could although there would always be moments of secret fear, no matter how resolved she was to not think about it.  
  
Alex completed the construction of the cast surrounding Jebediah Dorsey's arm where it had been broken in three places as he was dragged out of his home by the men who had been the cause of most injuries in this place. The elderly man smiled gratefully at her as he lay down in the makeshift bunk to rest, no longer having a home of his own since the bandits had razed it to the ground like so many others. She stepped away from him and took a brief pause to recoup her strength, fighting back the weariness that was nipping at her bones. Across the floor, she saw Casey Wells paying close vigil over her aunt who was out of her state of unconsciousness but still left weak from the head injury she had sustained in the futile defense of her home.  
  
In the meantime, she had enlisted the aide of Rain and Julia to help with the others while Inez prepared hot meals. Since most of the patients had been driven out of house and home, this was as much refuge as some could expect to have for the next few days. Even now, she glimpsed both women moving through the room, offering assistance to those who needed it. Julia had made her Emporium open to any supplies they might need and had instigated many of the other members of the business community to do the same. The town despite its current troubles was pulling together in a show of solidarity that made Alex pleased to be apart of the community. She knew that Mary was at this moment, organizing the men of the town to arm themselves as per Chris' instruction as they readied themselves to face whatever calamity was coming at them.  
  
"I think that's the last of it," Nathan said coming along side her, like hers, his apron was soiled with blood and sweat and he looked just as exhausted as she did.  
  
"For now," Alex sighed. "I'm going to have to go to my clinic and check on the women."  
  
Nathan did not need her to elaborate on which women because he knew immediately she was referring to the unfortunates who had been violated by the bandits.  
  
Unfortunately, Elizabeth Bartell had not been alone in her degradation and at least four other women in town had endured the same indignity. Personally, Alex knew that there was no cure she could administer that would erase the stain of that terrible experience and the least she could do was clean their bruises and cuts and offer them some measure of solitude in her clinic. However, she still wanted to see if they were all right.  
  
"Alex! Nathan!" Vin's voice suddenly tore through the hush quiet of the room. "Get over here!"  
  
Alex and Nathan swung around as Vin and Buck burst through the front door of the building, carrying Chris Larabee through the doorway. Chris was barely conscious as the two lawmen brought him to the nearest bed, his head hanging forward as the healers took in the sight of his injured torso and immediately came running towards him. Both Vin and Buck's clothes were stained with Chris' blood and Alex had not seen such a grievous injury on any of the seven since she was forced to operate on Vin some months ago.  
  
"What happened?" Nathan demanded as they lay him down on the nearest empty bed and allowed Alex to examine the extent of his injuries.  
  
Chris was not quite conscious when Alex pulled open his shirt, revealing the wound in all its bloody extremes. Very quickly, she was able to discern just where the bullet was lodged and what damaged it must have done upon entry.  
  
Unfortunately, that discovery offered little comfort considering what it had done when it had slammed into Chris' body. Alex soon formed a theory about the bullet used and realized that it explained why so much blood had been lost and why the exit wound had caused so much damage on its way out. Chris' chest as literally a tangle of flesh and he was in shock, not only from the gunshot but also from the arduous ride back to Four Corners.  
  
"Nathan, we need to get him to the clinic. He needs to go into surgery right now. There are pieces of lead everywhere! I think they used an express bullet on him!" Alex declared in one breath. "Vin, Nathan, help me. Buck, go get Mary. She needs to know!"  
  
"I'm gone." Buck nodded trying to hide his worry and was glad that he was given something to do instead of watching helplessly as Chris lay there bleeding before him. The lawman hurried out of the door to summon Mary as Vin and Nathan converged on Chris in order to move him to the clinic while Alex lingered momentarily to leave some instructions regarding the other patients.  
  
"Nathan, I'll need you to assist me," Alex announced as they lifted Chris from the blood-soaked sheets of the soiled bed.  
  
"With surgery?" Nathan paused in mid-step and looked at her with uncertainty. While he had performed minor procedures before, what Alex was alluding now was nothing as simplistic as what he had done previously.  
  
"With surgery," Alex said prompting them to keep moving as she followed them out of the room. "You know as well as I do what an express bullet would have done to him."  
  
"I don't know, explain it to me!" Vin demanded as he looked at his friend's condition with rising anxiety. He had suspected the injury had been bad before this but seeing the level of panic in Alex's manner made him realize that he had underestimated Chris' injuries by a great deal. Chris had not come out his unconscious state since lapsing into it during the ride back to town and Vin and Buck had almost been certain at some points that they had lost him.  
  
"When you crisscross the point of a bullet, it shatters on impact and spreads out like buckshot." Nathan did the honors in explanations as they emerged into the street, with people stopping short to stare at they saw the drama unfolding before them. "Tears through anything in its way."  
  
"It's done to as much damage as possible," Alex added as they hurried through the street, forcing gasps and cries of shock as they moved past the residents of Four Corners. The act could not have been more demoralizing even it was meant for this purpose. Alex knew as well as the seven that it was Chris Larabee that held them together. The town had come to see the enigmatic man in black as their unofficial defender even though he still frightened them somewhat. Chris Larabee's arrival in Four Corners had changed everything for the town, from the end of its lawless atmosphere to the new spirit of progress and prosperity that sweeping through the community.  
  
If he were to die, then what he had brought with him might die as well.

* * *

  
By the time Ezra, Josiah and J.D. returned to Four Corners, the news of Chris Larabee's state of health had the desired effect. With the sun setting rapidly in the distance, the mood in town appeared to be just as dark as the eminence of twilight as people whispered unhappily that if Chris were to die then all that had been achieved since the arrival of the seven would crumble away. While the trio had no idea at this point at what had befallen their leader, they did notice the somber way people were going about their business, preparing for the onslaught Chris had predicted earlier.  
  
"What is happening here? The mood is positively grim." Ezra asked as he made his way to the new school house to have his arm looked at. While the gunshot itself did not appear to be serious, falling on it had exacerbated the injury and now his entire arm throbbed painfully. Considering it was the arm he used to shoot, Ezra wanted it looked at as soon as possible for it was the worst possible time for him to be incapacitated in this way.  
  
Josiah could not answer but the woman's words as they had departed had weighed heavily on his mind and suddenly, he guessed that this dark mood in town might have something to do with what she had been alluding to. "I don't know," Josiah said with a deep frown. "I think we better find Chris though."  
  
Ezra nodded, recalling that remark made by that vile woman as well. "I shall join you presently if you wish to go seek him out. I feel the need to seek some medical aide for myself."  
  
"You do that," Josiah agreed with that decision. "I'll go find Chris and tell him what the situation is."  
  
"I'll come with you Ezra," J.D. spoke up. "I want to see how Casey is."  
  
Ezra and J.D. made their way to the school house and noticed that no one was making any effort to leave town. Ezra made a leap of judgment and guessed that those who had might have made the attempt would have encountered the bandits who were guarding every way in and out of Four Corners with ruthless efficiency and turned back. If the reception they received was anything like what Ezra had been forced to endure, then it would not be unreasonable to assume that no one would be making any further futile gestures of escape. While Ezra disliked thinking that they were cornered on all sides, it was becoming undeniably clear that this is exactly what they were facing.  
  
"What do you think they want Ezra?" J.D. asked as they made their way up the stairs of school house to the main doors of the building.  
  
"I do not know Mr. Dunne," Ezra answered honestly. "Mr. Larabee was correct in his assumption that they were attempting to herd us into one location. Now that they have completed that objective, we have little choice but to wait and see what else they have in store for us."  
  
"You don't think they're doing this kill everybody do you?" J.D. asked quietly, almost as if the thought was too horrifying to contemplate in its entirely. "I mean the last time when they tried to burn down the town, they chased everyone away first. They didn't really mean to hurt the people."  
  
Ezra had not considered the possibility but now that J.D. had voiced it, he found that he could not push it away either. The notion seemed too terrible to imagine and yet Ezra could not shake it because it did seem to make sense. Why else would they gather everyone in a single place if not to launch an all-out strike that would obliterate the enemy all at once?  
  
Ezra was kept from following that notion to its final end when he heard Julia's words call out when he and J.D. entered the floor of the school house. Desks and education implements had been vanquished in favor of cots for the injured who had been ejected from their homes with violence. Ezra could not help hide his shock at how many there were and realized the scope of their problem in that one glimpse of the room.  
  
J.D. scoured the room quickly, leaving Ezra to make his reunion with Julia without the benefit of his presence. Ezra watched briefly as J.D. immediately went towards Casey who was sitting at the far end of the room, still keeping watch over Nettie before he turned his attention.  
  
"Ezra!" Julia said embracing him as soon as she reached him and immediately withdrew when he winced in pain.  
  
"You're hurt." She declared and saw the wound on his shoulder.  
  
"It hurts worse than it is." He said with a faint smile and noted with some surprise that she was here playing nurse to all these people. "I leave for a few hours and you become Florence Nightingale while I am gone?" He teased.  
  
"They need help." She frowned, hating anyone to point out her more charitable side. "If you're up to it, we'll go to Alex's clinic to get that looked at." It may have sounded like a question but Ezra knew her tone well enough to decipher that it was not a request.  
  
"I rode all the way to town with this injury, a few more steps will not kill me," Ezra said amiably although he did wonder why neither Alex nor Nathan were not here. Considering the number of injured people in the room, one would normally be hard-pressed to remove either healer from the vicinity unless armed with a rather formidable crowbar or any kind of firearm. "Where is Alexandra and Mr. Jackson?" Ezra asked looking for them both.  
  
"That's why we have to go to the clinic and get your arm looked at there," Julia replied as she started steering him towards the door. "Vin and Buck came back with Chris. Ezra, he's been hurt really badly."  
  
Although the news was distressing, it was by no means received by the gambler with any measure of surprise. After what that dreaded woman had said to him as they left her and her thugs, Ezra had more or less suspected as he was certain Josiah did, that she was in possession of knowledge they did not have as of yet but did now. She must have been aware of Chris' condition even then. "I see," Ezra said with a line of tension in his voice. "Is he expected to survive."  
  
"I don't know," Julia confessed, remembering only that Alex had asked her and Rain to keep an eye on things while she and Nathan tended to Chris. They've been in surgery for some time now but I haven't had the time to learn anymore."  
  
Ezra nodded, realizing that this news did go some way to explaining why the town's mood was so somber when he and Josiah had returned from their aborted attempted to reach Sweet Water. Obviously, the entire community of Four Corners was aware of Chris Larabee's state of health and it was a rather significant blow to morale if they thought that the leader of the seven was going to die.  
  
They made their way through the darkening street with Ezra wincing every time he took a step because the injury he had sustained was starting to become acute. He did not believe that he was permanently damaged or seriously for that matter but if he could not be relieved of the pain, he was going to straight to the saloon for a more pleasant remedy.  
  
"Incidentally," Ezra spoke up putting aside the issue of Chris' injuries for the moment. He had a more pressing question to ask in regards to the enemy surrounding Four Corners. "As you might have guessed, our attempt to leave town has not proved successful since we encountered some of the individuals who are the reason for this cloistered predicament we now find ourselves in. There was a woman with them."  
  
"A woman?" Julia looked at him puzzled. "With a group of bandits?" She asked incredulously.  
  
"Yes, a very beautiful and if I might add rather a ruthless woman. She comported herself quite efficiently and had a personal grudge against you personally."  
  
"Me?" Julia exclaimed with surprise until it came to her with a sudden flash of memory. There was only one woman she knew who could possibly fit the description that Ezra had just presented her with and the idea of it send chills down her spine as she remembered the incident. "Quint." She mused meeting his gaze with a growing expression of fear and shock.  
  
"The same Quint referred to by Mr. Jeremy Seacourt as a ruthless mercenary?" Ezra looked at her in memory of the few days where he and the rest of the seven had pursued their women throughout the country side as the ladies proved that gender was no barrier to the amount of trouble they could place themselves. "I thought he was dead." Ezra mused and then recalled they had not found a body.  
  
"He?" Julia stared. "Why did you assume it was a he?"  
  
"Well, what else would one assume when referring to a mercenary."  
  
"Oh, so a woman cannot be considered ruthless or a mercenary?" She eyed him critically. "You know that is really the height of sexism." She declared offended with her hands on her hips showing her displeasure.  
  
Ezra rolled his eyes and retorted. "We will discuss my sexism later. So Quint was a woman?"  
  
"Yes," Julia said sarcastically. "Quint was a very beautiful woman." She echoed back his words and caused him to frown at her. "Selena Quint to be precise."  
  
"And pray to tell, why does she dislike you so much?"  
  
"Well," Julia cleared her throat, feeling a knot in her chest as she answered. She did not like to remember that she had been forced to use a gun and shoot someone. "Before you found us at that old fort, she and Alex were fighting and she had already shot me. Alex was no match for her, the woman was vicious and she was going to kill Alex so I picked up the gun and shot her."  
  
"Where?" Ezra asked, beginning to understand now.  
  
"In the back," Julia confessed, liking that part even less.  
  
"Well, that explains it then." Ezra nodded slowly as he absorbed this latest intelligence. "She remembers you very fondly my dear." He met her gaze. "In fact, after she knocked me off my horse, she made remarks to how eager she was to make your acquaintance again."  
  
Julia could only exclaim. "Oh dear."

* * *

  
"That's the last of it." Alex sighed under her surgical mask as she dropped the last piece of shrapnel into the tray that already contained a number of bloody bits of lead, the shattered remains of the bullet that had nearly killed Chris Larabee and might yet do.  
  
"I've sutured all the other bleeders," Nathan said unable to deny that his heart was pounding in his chest because of his own apprehension. He had assisted Alex in surgery before but not like this. On those other occasions, his presence was not required beyond clamping an artery here and there or draining fluid so that she could do the real work. However, this instance had been vastly different because there had been so much damage to Chris. The gunslinger needed simultaneous repair of at least a dozen rips and shred in his chest cavity and both of them had worked at breakneck speed to remove the shrapnel while repairing the injuries they had created. "There isn't any more random bleeding."  
  
Alex examined his work, aware that he was new at this and also mindful of the fact that Chris could not afford them to be mistaken about his treatment. She observed that everything appeared as it should before meeting his gaze. "Not bad, Doctor Jackson." She offered him a faint smile which he could not see behind her mask.  
  
"Oh good," Nathan sighed. "Now I can get that drink." The healer said relieved. Looking down at Chris who seemed nothing like the tough gunslinger they knew but serene in his sedation, Nathan could not help but comment. "He's going to mighty sore when he wakes up."  
  
"He's alive." Alex continued as she began her final stitches. "He ought to be grateful at that."  
  
"Flip you for being attending physician." Nathan joked. "I don't want to have to be responsible for him when he does wake up. He'll be cussing and whining until we let him out of bed."  
  
"Don't worry," she chuckled. "I'll take care of it. He's not going to be any position to move anyway. Not for the next few days, although knowing Chris, He'll try."  
  
"Our patience too," Nathan added.  
  
"Nathan," Alex said after a brief pause. Her voice this time was different with no trace of the humor they had shared earlier but had returned to the firm and confident voice of the doctor who had talked him through much of surgery. "I need to finish up here and I can do that myself. You need to go and tell Mary what's happening. She'd be a wreck until she knows how he is."  
  
"I think everyone needs to know," the healer replied, remembering the worried faces that were lingering in the waiting room outside. The most vocal of these had been Mary of course but the others were just as concerned and Alex was right, they needed to know something if just to ease their minds a little.

* * *

  
Nathan stepped out of the surgery after removing his bloody apron and tossing it into a hamper Alex had set aside for the purpose. When he emerged from behind the partition, the first thing he saw was Mary leaning against Buck for support. She seemed pale and her eyes showed that she had shed some tears even if there were no evidence of it now. She was a strong woman and crying was not something she often succumbed to but they all knew what kind of passion existed between Chris and Mary to appreciate how his loss would affect her. Her eyes widened the minute she caught sight of Nathan and her voice was drowned out in the flurry of questions that were soon asked of him.  
  
"How is he?" Mary demanded. Billy was standing next to her, his small hand clutching his mother's tightly as if he were attempting to will his strength into her. Nathan was pleased to be able to deliver some good news.  
  
"He's alive," Nathan said first and foremost. "He was hit bad and he won't be on his feet any time soon but he came through all right."  
  
Visible signs of relief moved across the faces of those present and in Mary, it looked as if she would faint from the sheer shock of learning that the man she loved would survive, despite her fears of the worst. Mary dropped heavily to a nearby chair and hunched over as she breathed deeply with Buck squeezing her shoulder in a show of support.  
  
"Can I see him?" Mary asked hopefully.  
  
"Not yet," Nathan replied automatically. "Alex is still fixing him up."  
  
"I heard people doing that to their ammo," Buck remarked bitterly as he thought about the bullet that had caused so much injury. "I just never seen it used that way."  
  
"What do they want?" Mary gushed, trying to keep her emotions in check but finding it difficult to do so. "They're pinning us up like spring lambs. I don't understand what is the point of all this!"  
  
"Mary, it's going to be okay," Buck said gently, knowing that much of her distress had to do with Chris being injured than the present situation brewing in Four Corners.  
  
"Yeah, he's made it through the hard part," Vin added his voice of support and could appreciate what the woman was feeling. It would have been too cruel for Fate to allow her to become a widow as second time especially so soon after marrying again.  
  
The door to the clinic swung open and Julia arrived with Ezra who was clutching his arm in pain, trying to stem the light flow of blood oozing from his grazed shoulder.  
  
"Ezra, you're hurt!" Nathan reacted immediately, striding towards the gambler as he and his lady made their appearance in the room.  
  
"Ezra, what happened?" Vin asked. "You were supposed to make for Sweet Water."  
  
"I was," Ezra remarked as Mary immediately vacated her chair and gestured for Ezra to sit. The gambler seemed reluctant to do so until Nathan pushed him into it with a stern look. "Unfortunately, myself, Mr. Sanchez and Mr. Dunne were expected to make such an attempt. They were waiting for us."  
  
"Damn," Buck swore under his breath. After what they had seen earlier that day in the ravine, even Chris had been forced to concede that they could not take on those odds alone and still be expected to defend the town. Although they had faced odds like this once before. There was a great deal of difference between this situation and the one at the Seminole village. Despite its troubles, the Seminole village was in a defensible position with high rock walls that allowed for good fortifications, unlike Four Corners which was a flat piece of town on an even flatter piece of land. An invading force could come in at them from any direction and unlike the Confederate Colonel who had been leading the charge in that incident, the leader of these bandits did not appear to be addled with laudanum or any other deteriorating mental problem.  
  
Alex slipped out from behind the partition and saw that Ezra had returned with an injury, however, she turned her attention to Mary instead, since it appeared as if Nathan had things well under control. "Mary, he's going to be okay." She flashed the editor of the Clarion News an encouraging smile. "There was a lot of damage but Nathan and I managed to get it under control."  
  
"Thank God." Mary let out another sigh, feeling a renewed sense of hope. "Thank you, the both of you." She said gratefully to both Alex and Nathan.  
  
"How're things at the hospital?" Alex asked Julia who would have just come from the hospital.  
  
"Everyone seems to have settled down," Julia answered the doctor's query. "Rain is keeping an eye on things while I brought Ezra here."  
  
"Ezra's going to be okay too," Nathan announced for Julia's benefit as well as the others, including Ezra. "It was just a scratch."  
  
"I am so glad that you consider it such," Ezra grumbled wanting just a little sympathy but supposed under the circumstances, it was the best he was going to get. "It certainly does not feel like a scratch. This may have long-term effects on my drawing skills."  
  
"Just tell us what happened when you got ambushed." Vin cut him off impatiently as Alex slipped next to him.  
  
Ezra threw him a look of mock hurt but continued nonetheless with his recollection. "As I had already imparted upon you earlier. They were waiting for us even though we took the most obscure route out of town that we could find."  
  
"We had a look at their camp," Vin recounted. "And they're well organized. They look to set up to stay for a few days and there were at least thirty of them, not to mention the ones that were moving out. I wouldn't be surprised if they studied the lay of the land and spread their men out that way to cover all ways out of town."  
  
"Well, I do have one more bit of interesting information regarding the so-called leader of this group," Ezra remarked, throwing a glance at Julia as he spoke. "In regards to the mysterious woman that Mr. Freeman was speaking of earlier."  
  
"We saw her," Buck confirmed. "She was really a piece of work. Beautiful as all hell. ."  
  
Everyone in the room rolled their eyes in collective resignation.  
  
"I see you are making excellent progress in your attempts to abstain," Ezra commented with unmasked sarcasm.  
  
"Very funny," Buck grumbled.  
  
"What about the woman?" Vin broke in again, wanting to know anything that could be of assistance to them at this time. As it was, the enemy was several steps ahead and if they did not start regaining some ground soon, this siege was going to end most unpleasantly.  
  
"Does the mercenary Quint sound familiar."  
  
"The same Quint that you girls ran into at Winston Falls?" Buck exclaimed.  
  
"The mercenary is a woman?" Vin could not help blurting out in similar surprise.

Alex turned to him and declared haughtily. "Now why is it so hard to believe that a woman is capable of being mercenary? Not all female villains are deranged poisoners and black widows you know. That is really the height of sexism."  
  
"Alex!" Vin shot a look to tell her that this was not the time and wondered why Ezra was staring at him with such empathy.  
  
"So if the woman is a mercenary," Nathan spoke up while he was tending Ezra's grazed shoulder. The gambler had been forced to relinquish his soiled jacket and shirt with Nathan applying alcohol solution to clean the wound. "Someone must have hired her."  
  
"She can't work cheap, not for the kind of operation she's mounting," Buck remarked, remembering how well armed those bandits were not to mention their supply of fresh horses and everything else that would be required for an extended siege of Four Corners.  
  
"When she came after us before, she was hired by a millionaire. Who around here would have that kind of money?" Julia pointed out.  
  
"Guy Royal and Stuart James," Mary said firmly without any doubt in her voice.  
  
"Hey now, running people out of town is one thing." Vin quickly countered. "But this is different, they corralling us and they're keeping us in. It's a safe bet to assume, they're also keeping everyone out. They've gone to the trouble of cutting us from the rest of the world. We're talking about a world of trouble for this kind of effort. It's not something you can walk away from once it's done and I don't think they mean to keep us in here forever. Eventually, they're going to close the trap."  
  
"The trap is already sprung, Mr. Tanner." Ezra pointed out. "The question is what do they intend to do now they have us?"  
  
"Can we get to Royal and James?" Julia asked. "Maybe talk to them and negotiate something?"  
  
"The lady did speak of negotiation," Ezra added, recalling that part of his unceremonious meeting with Selena Quint. "Unfortunately, I can tell you we are not going to like her terms."  
  
"Why is that?" Nathan inquired as he started wrapping bandages around Ezra's wound. "What did she say?"  
  
"About negotiation, nothing." The gambler said uncomfortably, wishing Billy was not here and looked at Mary. "Master Travis, I believe my dear Julia could use her shawl. I believe it is in the new school house, would you be so kind as to fetch it?"  
  
Julia, realizing what Ezra intended, immediately flashed Billy one of her more enchanting smiles. "Would you please?"  
  
"Okay." The boy smiled happily and immediately hurried away to fulfill just that wish for her.  
  
Mary made no mood to stop him, understanding that this conversation was becoming much too serious for his hearing and the boy had already been through enough with Chris being injured. As soon as he left, Mary looked up at Ezra. "What do you think to be so terrible that my son should be sent away?" Mary asked, seeing something in Ezra's eyes that put them all on guard.  
  
"I apologize for the ruse but I did not think it would be wise for young William to hear my ruminations," Ezra remarked. "This lady may be a mercenary but she is not doing this for the money. There is something very personal about this for her and I do not believe that the premise of negotiation is at all what she has in mind."  
  
"How can you be sure?" Vin asked, having reached the same conclusion but hoping Ezra would have some kind of evidence to support his idea that they were being corralled for a terrible end. He had seen this pattern once before and had heard of it from those who had undergone the experience and lived to tell their tale. This had all the earmarks of that terrible story he had been told and if Vin was right and this was what was going to happen to Four Corners, then they were for in more trouble then anyone could possibly imagine.  
  
"The same way I can tell when you are bluffing or when Mr. Wilmington's evening with a lady did not reach the heights of passionate rapture that he would have us believe." Ezra paused long enough to hear an outraged cry from Buck before proceeding again. "I read people and I am telling you, the bid for negotiation was merely a stall for time. They are pacifying us with such claims so we will not panic and expect the worst."  
  
"I had a feeling about that. " Vin swallowed deciding he better let them in on what he suspected and almost certainly what Chris had been unable to voice before he had been shot. "When I was living with the Indians," Vin started speaking. "One of them told me about how his old village had been told they were relocating to this new reserve. They packed up and moved there and found a whole bunch of other villages that had been moved in pretty much the same way. They were corralled in one place, almost 200 of them. For two days, they waited and watched for the soldiers to come tell them what was gonna happen next." Vin paused and found himself squeezing Alex's hand because talking about something so foul was hard enough. He could not imagine what that Indian must have endured living through such a nightmare as well.  
  
"What happened?" Buck spoke, his voice a soft whisper as they all went very quiet.  
  
"The soldiers came on the third day and wiped em all out. Men, women, children, even the babies. Slaughtered them all in one day."  
  
"Oh, God!" Mary exclaimed, her hand flew to her mouth in horror.  
  
"He got away cause he knew when to lie down and play dead. When the Calvary was busy burning the bodies, he managed to crawl away."  
  
"That was grim Mr. Tanner and I hope you are merely sharing that with us for the sake of some obscure tenet of the male bonding ritual to which I am unaware." Ezra retorted, trying to drive the image of murdered babies from his mind.  
  
"I wish I was," Vin replied grimly. "But I ain't. I think they're corralling us and they're getting all the folks living outside of town to Four Corners so they don't miss anyone. They're going to keep us waiting for a few days and see to it no one gets in. When they're ready, they're going to come riding in here to finish us all."  
  
"You mean they're doing all this for a .." The word died Buck's throat because it was too terrible to contemplate.  
  
"A massacre," Vin said grimly. "They're getting us ready for a massacre."


	5. The Long Dark Night

  
The saloon was full but the mood was far from lively.  
  
Like the rest of Four Corners, the establishment was effected with the same malaise that had overcome the town with no one was in the mood to enjoy their liquor to any kind of satisfaction. Inez remained behind the counter, noting in particular the somber atmosphere whose greatest concentration seemed to be lingering around the table normally occupied by the seven lawmen of Four Corners. Unfortunately, on this evening, their number had been reduced to six and it was for that lack of one that the entire town was trapped in a prison of despair almost as confining as the blockade that kept them under siege.  
  
"Somehow, we've got to get through this blockade." Buck Wilmington declared as the six sat around the table conferring their position as if it were a council of war. "If Vin's right, we don't have a lot of time and we won't have a chance when they decide to ride in here."  
  
"That's easier said that done, Buck." J.D. retorted, still smarting from the humiliating encounter with that Quint woman, not to mention he wanted to hurt someone for the near violation of Casey and the harm they had brought to Nettie. The enemy there were now facing did not seem like any outlaw or opponent they had previously encountered. There was something deeply personal about this newest threat because it was not merely themselves that was in danger but their entire existence in the town of Four Corners. "You didn't see how many of them were guarding that pass we tried to take to get to Sweet Water."  
  
"Well we gotta do something." Buck said apprehensive, glancing at Inez who was working behind the bar even as they spoke. He could see the slight swell of her stomach through her dress and knew that curve was actually his child growing inside her, relying on him to keep it and its mother safe. Buck had no intention of failing either of them. If he could not protect her now, how was he ever going to prove to her that he could be a husband to her?  
  
"According to your own observations," Ezra spoke up. "These villains are well supplied and informed. The lady who delivered this charming bruise," he referred to the discoloration on his cheek bone where Selena had hit him that had developed into a formidable shiner. "Knew exactly who we were during our unfortunate encounter. She also knew that we would take the most obscure path out of town and had it guarded accordingly. As much as I may dislike to admit it, I think she has done her homework in evaluating us all and I believe is quite prepared to keep us penned in indefinitely."  
  
"Well there are ways out of Four Corners that don't show on a map." Vin remarked, refusing to believe that there was no avenue left for them to turn.  
  
The people of Four Corners were relying on them to get this situation under control and Vin was not about to disappoint them. It was bad enough that the town's morale had suffered a substantial blow with Chris getting hurt, it was now imperative that they knew help was coming and Vin was determined to find a way to materialize that help.  
  
"I don't know whether it's a good idea for you to go off on your own Vin," Josiah regarded the tracker knowing precisely what the younger man was alluding to with that suggestion. Vin had a tendency to go off on his own when he believed he was right. While it was an admirable quality at times, there were instances when he had almost gotten himself killed. "With Chris down for the count and Nathan needed with the injured, this ain't exactly the time to divide our forces. We don't know for sure that a massacre is what these mercenaries have in mind or whether or not they're going to wait a few days to make their run on us. Whatever they plan to do, we're going need you here."  
  
"I know," Vin frowned unhappily before draining his glass and slamming it hard on the table. "I just hate waiting around here for them to come get us."  
  
"We're not waiting around," Buck replied lending support to Josiah's demand that Vin stay put since he too was aware of Vin's predilections to getting things done when he was determined enough. "We're keeping those we care about safe."  
  
Once again, Buck fought the urge to look at Inez. For the first time, he had some idea of the anxieties that Chris used to have for his family during those nights when he had to leave Sarah and Adam for a trip out of town. Buck had always considered those occasions a chance for him and Chris cut loose, never understanding what secret fears Chris kept inside of him until that awful night when all his nightmares came to pass in a blaze of fire.  
  
"Maybe Vin's right." Nathan added. "Maybe its better if he makes a run for Sweet Water to get help. I don't know about you but personally I don't think one more man is going to make a difference if they decide to hit us hard. There's more than thirty of them and six of us. Even with the town's help, it ain't gonna be easy to defend this place."  
  
Suddenly, the quiet of the evening night was broken with the loud eruption of gunfire followed by the thundering sound of horses screaming their arrival with high pitched neighs that captured everyone's attention as they rumbled through town. The lawmen immediately leapt out of their seats and ran out of the establishment as the screams and gunfire continued. Emerging outside, they caught sight of a group of armed men, spreading out across town in groups of four. The lawmen immediately counted at least a dozen mercenaries presently fanning out over Four Corners, carrying torches that left a trail of light as they moved through the darkened streets.  
  
"It looks like they're moving ahead of schedule!" Buck cried out as he grabbed the first horse that he saw at the hitching post and mounted it. Beside him, Vin and Ezra did the same as Josiah, Nathan and J.D. hurried in the direction of nearest riders they could reach on foot.  
  
"Get off the streets!" Vin shouted to anyone who could hear as he climbed into the saddle. Immediately, people started running for cover indoors, more than happy to let the law deal with the invaders while they hid in safety.  
  
Buck led the charge as his horse galloped down the main street of Four Corners, following the group of four who were armed with torches and shooting anyone who was foolish enough to still remain in the open. Buck winced as he saw two bystanders go down even though they were scrambling to escape the gunfire. He did not know who they were but he had seen them around town and knew enough about them to know they were men with families. Watching them cut down so callously forced Buck to pull out his own gun and start firing in an effort to stop their murderers. He saw one of the riders ahead tumbled to the ground as another mercenary tossed his torch through the window of Gloria Potter's store.  
  
The flaming piece of wood shattered the glass store front, igniting the curtains as it passed through them and quickly finding something to burn when it finally landed on the floor. By the time Buck, Vin and Ezra rode past the premises, the fire had snaked up the floor covered with grease and dirt to find sustenance in the rest of the shop's wares. The remaining trio of mercenaries they were pursuing still had torches of their own and the lawmen knew that they had to keep the riders from finding new targets or else Four Corners would soon be engulfed in flames.  
  
"Get off the streets!" Buck shouted at anyone who still had not heeded the warning as he continued firing at the enemy. "Damn!" He swore as he saw another torch flying to the air, this one landing on the awning of Ben Driscoll's home, the local barber. Embers scattered across the sloped surface burning quickly into the wood, dried by the spring heat before burst into flames across the entire length of the awning.  
  
"Vin get the ones with the torches!" Buck shouted because Vin was the sharpshooter among the three of them and only he could make the lengthy shot with that much precision. Buck had seen Vin nail a target at almost 500 yards on horse back in the dark. He hoped this would not be as difficult.  
  
The tracker was already taking careful aim. He did not believe in shooting a man in the back but in this case, there was little choice. Before the night was done, these men could very well succeed in razing the entire town to the ground. He saw the man pull back his arm, preparing to throw the torch he was holding at the window of the Clarion News and knew that this was as good a time as any to make the shot. Pulling the trigger with perfect confidence, Vin heard the bullet escape the barrel of his Winchester and allowed himself a faint smile when he saw the man topple off his horse, the torch that was meant for the Mary and Chris' home, falling into the dirt next to him.  
  
Meanwhile Buck and Ezra were also making careful aim at the remaining riders, preparing to put them down as permanently as Vin had just done so without as much subtlety. Releasing a lethal barrage of fire, their bullets soon cut down the men in front of them and the bodies toppled past the lawmen even though their horses, continued galloping forward, leaving their dead masters behind.  
  
Unfortunately, the destruction was far from over as the lawmen saw Gloria Potter's store blazing from the inside out while Ben Driscoll and his family were attempting to beat the flames consuming the front portion of their house into submission.  
  
"Bastards!" Buck swore as he saw evidence of at least two more fires glowing warmly against the backdrop of the indigo sky.  
  
"It looks like they ain't gonna let us wait this out with nothing to do." Vin said sharply.  
  
"Gentlemen," Ezra nudged his horse in the opposite direction. "We are far from resolved from this duty just yet." He started riding after another collection of mercenaries, still holding their torches and making their way towards the Pemberton Emporium. Being one of the largest buildings in town, it was one of the most inviting targets not to mention the difficulty in putting out the fire should the structure become engulfed. There were too many things within the building that were highly flammable and it would be almost impossible to stop the entire Emporium from becoming a raging inferno.  
  
Ezra led this time, pushing the unfamiliar horse he was riding harder than it had ever been ridden in its entire life. Even with Vin and Buck behind him, riding as fast as possible, he knew he would be hard pressed to reach the mercenaries who were almost upon the building. Looking behind him, he shouted at Vin.  
  
"Mr. Tanner, you must stop him from throwing that infernal object into the Emporium!" Ezra implored. "It will go up like a Roman candle."  
  
Ezra did not have to say it twice. Like before, Vin had not intention of letting Julia Pemberton's livelihood go up in flames although the shot required to prevent it was almost twice the distance it had taken to save the Clarion. Nevertheless, Vin was determined to try. Taking careful aim as he closed the distance between himself and the target, Vin took a deep breath and knew he had no time to make a precise shot as he might like and aimed from the hip.  
  
The bullet struck the rump of the horse being ridden by the would be arsonist. The animal reared up on its hindquarters in pain, tossing its master and the incendiary torch off its back. Vin hated resorting to shooting the horse but the animal had presented a better target than its rider and Vin had to improvise quickly. The man tumbled to the ground badly but was scrambling to his feet soon enough. He did not appear unhurt but his horse was in no mind to let him saddle up again and so he was forced to climb on the back on his companion's mount. By this time, the lawmen had reached the group. Their arrival was preceded by gunfire which had the mercenaries fleeing the way they came, leaving the Emporium relatively safe. However, they were determined to use their torches and flung them aside whilst returning fire. One of the torches landed on some crates in the street, another through the doors of Murphy's Saloon while the last torch landed through the window of someone's home.  
  
Buck, Vin and Ezra kept their heads down as bullets whizzed past them. Vin felt the heat of a bullet graze his buckskins but fortunately penetrated no further than that. By now, the streets were devoid of people except for those who were taking up the defense of Four Corners. Fortunately, it appeared as if the mercenaries had no wish for a prolonged engagement and the ones under pursuit by the lawmen, turned the corner that would put them on the fastest route out of town.  
  
However, the mercenaries were not alone and the rest of their number was still rampaging through town. Buck looked over his shoulder and realized that what they had managed to save was only one small part of town. The rest of Four Corners was being terrorized by the other mercenaries the lawmen had not managed to reach who had thrown their torches while gunning down a number of townsfolk at the same time. As the fires began to intensify, people were drawn out onto the streets again, forced to abandon safety to deal with this new threat.  
  
"Damn!" Buck swore. "We ain't done nothing at all!"  
  
"Not enough it appears," Ezra replied as he saw so many fires across town that it seemed like daylight in Four Corners for the sky was glowing amber.  
  
"Come on!" Vin kicked his heels into his horse and sent the animal surging ahead towards the mercenaries that were still in town. "This ain't over yet! We're in for one long night!"  
  
"Stay inside!" J.D. ordered a curious woman who had peered out her window to see what was happening as he ran past her home, both his guns drawn on the rider who was outdistancing him rapidly. The young man felt his heart pounding as he attempted to maintain the pursuit, wishing more than ever he had his horse with himself, instead of where it was stabled at the livery. He emptied all bullets at the group, he, Josiah and Nathan had broken up. Despite his best efforts to end the man's rampage, he could not fire the shot that would see that take place.  
  
Suddenly, almost as if the bandit had a conduit to his mind, J.D. saw the man ride towards the livery, guns blazing at everything in his path as he made the journey there. Stray fire shattered windows, created holes in walls and generally caused enough pandemonium to send people running in all directions, seeking cover. He had some idea as to the purpose of these raids, other than to burn down the town and kill innocent people and guessed that was the campaign of terror that Chris had been so determined to prevent.  
  
The rider paused at the livery long enough for J.D. to catch up but not long enough to keep him from tossing the flaming piece of wood through the open door of the stable.  
  
"NO!" J.D. shouted angrily, knowing just how much damage that was going to cause. The reaction of the animals was immediate and he heard terrified neighing as the hay inside the building ignited instantly. The man turned long enough to look at J.D. and throw him a sneer of complete triumph that more or less snapped whatever restraint the young man might have possessed. With skill he did not know he possessed, J.D. fired without even thinking because he wanted this done with quickly.  
  
The bullet slammed into the man's forehead, blowing the back of his head out in a spray of blood and bone. He fell of his horse without uttering a sound and J.D. more or less ignored his bloody form when the young sheriff had to run past it to reach the animals inside the stable. J.D. paid no more regard to the corpse beyond the knowledge that the man was dead and would cause no more trouble. When J.D. arrived at the main doors of the livery, he could hear the panic cries of the animals locked within their stalls, unable to escape. The young sheriff immediately pulled off his coat and ran into the structure.  
  
As expected, the hay had caught fire immediately and since the place was literally covered from one end of the stable to the other with hay, the fire had plenty to feed on as it consumed its way across the structure. The horses inside their stalls were kicking and screeching in terror as they were visited by one of the most primeval of natural enemies. Some of the animals were kicking so fiercely they were actually breaking wood and it would not be long before one of the animals hurt themselves from the sheer terror of trying to escape.  
  
The fire had snaked up the ceiling beams and the livery was filling up with smoke, adding to the further descent of panic for the animals trapped within. J.D. pulled the gates that he had unlatched and saw Chris Larabee's black gelding which had returned to town hours earlier on its own, sprint from its stall, galloping towards the doors. He repeated this procedure several times, freeing the dozen or more horses stabled inside the building. Some were eager to depart and more or less bowled him over as soon as he had opened the gate.  
  
Unfortunately, there were a few stragglers, held back by the intensity of the heat of the raging inferno, not to mention that wall of flames that needed human navigation to traverse. The smoke was making hard to breathe but J.D. was not prepare to abandon the animals and hurried into the stalls of the ones that still remained. He had not idea who the mare belonged to but knew that it was never going to make it out of the livery in its heightened state of panic.  
  
Wrestling to get an adequate grip of the mare's bridle which was not an easy thing to do considering the horse was kicking its hind legs violently, trying to smash its way out of the stall, J.D. attempted to calm the animal.  
  
"Whoa there girl!" J.D. cried out, trying desperately to reach the leather straps so he could gain some measure of control over the mare. However, she had no intention of making it easy for him and finally, J.D. had no choice but to flip his coat over her head to calm her. She thrashed for a bit after the darkness had enveloped her but was disorientated by the sudden blackness to finally allow J.D. to wrap his fingers around her bridle.  
  
"Its okay girl," he said softly, trying to soothe her with his voice as he attempted to lead it out of the stall. "We're getting out of here."  
  
The smoke was so thick, it was difficult to breathe but J.D. could not leave any of the animals behind as he waved the grey clouds out of his path as he heard the crackle of fire much closer than the would like. The blaze was everywhere now, even inside some of the stalls he had just vacated. The mare was still struggling but J.D. was able to exert some measure of control as he led it to the doors into the cool of the night air outside.  
  
The young sheriff took greedy gulps of air as he emerged into the night once more. His lungs felt dry and raspy when he released the mare who promptly bolted down the street. There would be time to round up the other animals later but for right now, there was still a few more languishing inside that inferno. Taking another greedy gulp of air, J.D. dashed through the open doors and noticed that the doorway itself was on fire. There were at least three more horses and the fire was making good pace throughout the building. With anguish, J.D. knew he would not be able to get them all out and decided he did not care. He could not leave any creature to die like this.  
  
Throwing caution to the winds, J.D. ran into the first stall of the last three horses still inside the stable. The fear of fire had kept them inside their stalls, too frighten to venture or make any attempt to save themselves. Fighting time and the thick smoke inside the building, J.D.'s eyes watered and could only see when he squinted hard. He refused to admit that he was almost blind as he grabbed the harness around the animal and dragged it out of its stall, even though it was bucking and kicking in protest at having to venture out into the fire. His lungs were starting to burn and J.D. started coughing as he struggled to bring the horse to safety. The air was filled with the sound of a raging fire and the terrified neighing of the remaining horses.  
  
Suddenly, a loud crack was heard, like the snapping of a great log. He could not see from which direction it was coming but heard it break loudly. The beam landed only a few feet away behind him, the loud impact sending the horse he was attempting to save into a surge of fear that caused it to break free of him.  
  
Fortunately, the animal had bolted towards the door in its fright and managed to help itself when it escaped through the night air.  
  
J.D. had been thrown to the ground when the horse had broken free of him and as he scrambled to his feet to see the damage done, he realized with dismay that a support beam had fallen directly between him and the remaining horses. While he might be able to squeeze past them, there was no way he was going to be able to bring the animals through with him. The entire structure was starting to heave and groan as if it were going to collapse at any minute. It would be have been entirely justifiable if he ran out and left them. No one would think any less of him for doing so.  
  
Except he could not.  
  
J.D. loved horses. Everything he had loved about the West, gunslingers and cowboys had come from that appreciation. When he had lived in the east, learning to ride them had been his own connection to the dream he wanted so much to be apart of when he was old enough to seek it out for his own. He could not imagine abandoning the creatures desperately needing his help even though he knew freeing them would be virtually impossible now. He could not leave them to be burned alive. He made a decision then and hoped his conscience would let him live with it later.  
  
Ignoring the stinging in his eyes and the burning pain in his lungs, J.D. kept his head down and ran under the fiery beam across the livery floor. Clearing the flaming wreckage, he entered the stalls of a young mare that was kicking and screeching her terror with each breath of smoke she was inhaling. J.D. could see her nostrils flaring and then recoiling at the toxic air in its lungs. J.D. tried to pacify the animal the best he could and noticed that to some extent, it was calmed at his present. He took hold of its bridal and ran a soothing hand over its warm flank, hoping to ease its fears.  
  
Then he pulled out his gun and put it down before the animal was even aware of the shot.  
  
The bulk of the horse collapsed immediately and J.D. knew that some of the tears in his eyes were not from the fire as he groaned in anger with what he was forced to do. Slipping out of the stall, he went to the next animal and repeated the same thing, telling himself all the while that it was all he could do. When the grisly task was finally completed, J.D. knew it was time to go. That the structure had not collapsed already was a minor miracle and he ran forward at breakneck speed as he heard the first snap of burning wood. Leaping over the beam, he had never run so fast in his life as when he did when those hot embers started raining down on him as the ceiling finally gave way.  
  
"J.D.!" Nathan was there to greet him when he burst out of the livery doors, just as the building crumbled behind him. Hot waves of air and fire blew outwards as wood tumbled to the earth in a final conflagration. "Boy! Are you crazy!" Nathan demanded almost on the verge of panic when he realized how close his younger friend had come to making that pile of flaming wreckage his funeral pyre.  
  
"I had to get the horses out!" J.D. said while coughing hard, trying to expel the toxic smoke from his lungs so that he could get fresh air into instead.  
  
"Breathe easy!" Nathan ordered, bending the boy over as he continued coughing loudly.  
  
"It hurts to breathe." J.D. struggled to say.  
  
"You've probably suffering from smoke inhalation." Nathan guessed and made a quick scan of him to ensure that was the only injury that J.D. had sustained.  
  
Josiah came running up from the main street at the point. The preacher's gun was drawn as he advanced upon them and surveyed the situation on arrival. This scene although more progressed than some of the others Josiah had misfortune to come across prior to his arrival here, was only one of many such incidents throughout town. Despite the continued gunfire as Vin, Ezra and Buck ran the last remnants of the mercenaries out of town, the entire community had emerged from their hiding places to deal with the numerous fires that had been set across town.  
  
Unlike the attacks made by the Klan some months ago, those seemed to pale by comparison with what they faced now when the prospect that the entire town could be nothing more than cinders by dawn if they did not band together and help was a looming possibility.  
  
"I managed to get a few of them but they did plenty damage." Josiah announced.  
  
"I'm gonna talk J.D. to the schoolhouse," Nathan declared, "he's taken in a lot of smoke."  
  
"You okay J.D.?" Josiah regarded the young man with concern and noted that his pallor seemed rather grey although it was difficult to tell because he was covered in smoke and dirt.  
  
"I'm fine." J.D. said unhappily, still unable to shake the guilt at being forced to gun down those last few horses. "The smoke's gotten to me just a little."  
  
Josiah could tell by his manner that there was more to it than just than and the look he exchanged with the healer more or less confirmed that Nathan held the same belief but neither were willing to press at the moment. J.D. would tell them when he felt like he needed to talk about and the truth was, the present situation did not lend itself well to any heart to heart disclosures. The town was in nothing less than chaos at the moment, appearing as if it had just emerged from the aftermath of the battle. Aside from the fires, there were also a number of dead or injured people that needed taking care of, to say nothing about the property damage caused by bullets and stray fire.  
  
"Well, come on then." Nathan took J.D. by the arm to ensure the young man come with him because something about J.D.'s state of mind concerned him. He had heard the gunshots as he approached the livery prior to its collapse and although he did not know for certain what had happened, Nathan a pretty good idea. "We'll get you fixed up."  
  
"Its best you get up there anyway." Josiah remarked. "You're going to have a lot of patients in a short while. More than Alex can manage I'm sure."  
  
"You best get her Josiah," the healer urged. "She's been staying at her clinic keeping an eye on Chris."  
  
"I'll do that." Josiah nodded grimly as Nathan and J.D. brushed past him and started walking towards the schoolhouse. The preacher watched them go for a moment before hurrying towards Alexandra Styles' clinic. Even though it was well and truly dark by now, it appeared that the night was just beginning.

* * *

  
He felt terrible.  
  
That was more or less the first conscious thought that seeped into Chris Larabee's mind when awareness finally brought him out of the darkness of his slumber. He tried to move and felt as if a ton of bricks was resting against his chest and was not letting him go anywhere but then, not even a ton of brick could keep Chris down if he was determined to move. He forced himself onto his elbows even though the action forced a groan of pain from him in retaliation for the unnecessary movement. It took Chris a few seconds to deal with the agony.  
  
Much to his chagrin, Chris was forced to concede that the pain was considerable indeed for he felt his head swim from its sheer intensity, not to mention the moan of silent protest from every limb in his body for the overexertion.  
  
When Chris was finally able to maintain some sort of control over the pain and he had to admit, it not much, he took a moment to examine his surroundings.  
  
Judging by the partition and the clean, antiseptic smell of the sheets he was lying on, Chris assumed he was in a room inside Alexandra Styles' clinic.  
  
Realizing that Vin must have brought him here after he had been shot, he instinctively looked at his chest to examine the wound he had only seen as a bloody smear on his shirt.  
  
The last thing he remembered was telling Vin to leave although he should have known better than to expect the tracker to do such a thing. Vin could be loyal to a fault when the occasion called for it and Chris had no doubt that the thought to abandon Chris would never have even crossed his mind, despite the peril to himself. Nevertheless Vin had saved his life, yet again. The gunslinger made a note to thank the man if he survived the night, which at this moment did not feel all that certain. Chris tried to slide further upright in his bed, when he noticed Alexandra Styles was dozing lightly in the chair next to him. Judging by the uncomfortable way she was position there, it looked like she had been in it for quite some time.  
  
He watched her for a moment, admiring the lines on her face and marveled at the fierce determination to heal that transcended everything else for her. Chris had seen her walk straight into a camp full of yellow fever patients where most respectable doctors would have fled at the first sign of the corpse and advised that the place be quarantined. When it came to saving a life, there was no in-betweens for her and he wondered if she had been as dedicated when she had been putting him back together. Chris allowed her to sleep, aware that she was probably exhausted and understood as he stared for a moment, why Vin Tanner was so utterly lost.  
  
Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to sit up, feeling more waves of agony searing through his body as he moved into an upright position in his bed. He could not see the injuries beneath the bandages around his body but he could certainly feel them. The heaviness in his limbs threatened to overcome him at any moment but Chris refused to relent. He needed to get up. Four Corners was in deep trouble and he could not add to those difficulties by being off his feet.  
  
As he pulled the covers from over himself, he left out a soft grunt of pain as he prepared to swing his feet off the bed. He paused a moment and sought his clothes and saw only his gun belt draped over the bedpost. Unfortunately, it appeared he was not dressed but decided he would figure something out when he was finally on his feet.  
  
"Where do you think you are going?" Alex who was very much awake demanded, her arms folded and her eyes meeting his with reproach.  
  
"Where do you think?" Chris retorted quietly, trying to hide the pain in a mask of cool indifference.  
  
"You are in no condition to even think of leaving this room. Do you know that I have spent the last day, making certain you stay alive?" She declared firmly, having risen from her chair and taking up position in front of him, like a sentry daring him to breach the walls of her responsibility to him.  
  
"I'm real grateful but I gotta go," Chris said heaving himself painfully out of bed.  
  
"Of course." She said with no further word of protest as she slipped out of the partition and left him alone. "I'll just get your clothes."  
  
_Well, that was easy._  
  
Chris had expected more of a protest with her because when it came to her patients, Alexandra Styles had a temper that put even Mary to shame, not to say his wife was any less fiery either. In fact, when Mary was properly riled, even Chris had the sense to duck for cover. Still, he could not help but smile, he did so love strong women. Sarah had been the same way and their spectacular arguments had been followed by some torrid session of love making when they were making up.  
  
He was in the process of climbing out of his bed when suddenly, he felt a sharp sting on his rear. "What the hell was that?" He snapped when he realized that Alex had returned unexpectedly. "What did you give me?" He demanded when he realized that it was a needle that he had felt penetrate his skin.  
  
"Something for the pain." Alex replied in that no-nonsense tone that told him firmly that the only way out of this room was over her dead body.  
  
"I ain't in pain!" Chris lied but did not want her to know that he was because she had no call sticking him with needles! Especially on his bare butt when he was not looking!  
  
"Well you're being one!" Alex retorted. "Now you are getting back into bed, Mr. Larabee." She took his arm and did not have to exert much strength to get him back onto the sheets.  
  
Chris scowled angrily as he was forced back under the covers and felt the effects of the sedative she had given him starting to take effect. "I'll get you for this." He grumbled weakly.  
  
"Whatever." Alex glared at him with annoyance. "But while you are my patient, you will sit still and rest or so help me I'll get your wife in here and trust me, she'll be less forgiving than I."  
  
"Where is Mary?" Chris asked, starting to get drowsy and felt a surge of annoyance that she had been so sneaky. Still, he had to admit whatever she had given him had taken the edge of the pain that was coursing through him although he was still angry that she had done it and when he was on his feet again, he would devise some way to get her back.  
  
"She's with Billy." Alex said reluctantly. She had been aware that there was some trouble in town but had been reluctant to leave Chris because of the seriousness of his injuries. Besides, she had been on her feet all day and had taken the opportunity for some rest, knowing that in the aftermath of whatever calamity that had taken place, she would be undoubtedly needed. "There's been trouble in town."  
  
"What sort of trouble?" Chris asked, snapping out of his grogginess at that news.  
  
"Alex!" Josiah's deep voice called out after he had burst through the front door, slamming it against the wall in his hasty entrance.  
  
"In here Josiah!" Chris responded, managing a loud enough cry to bring the preacher through the partition into the little room that he was presently occupying during his debate with Alex.  
  
"Chris." Josiah exclaimed with a smile, seeing the gunslinger awake although Chris' pallor and general state of health seemed so far away from the tough, brooding man he had ridden with for the last two years. "Its good to see you're still with us."  
  
"Barely." Chris grumbled and shot Alex a stormy look when he felt his head swim because of the sedative she had inflicted upon him. His limbs felt heavy although the pain had dissipated somewhat and Chris had trouble keeping his head up and finally had to rest back on the pillow once again.  
  
"What's happened?" Alex asked thinking it safe enough to take her eye off Chris now that the drugs were well and truly working on him. Besides, she had been unable to dismiss the panic in Josiah's voice when the preacher had first entered her clinic.  
  
"There's a lot of people hurt out there." Josiah replied and provided Chris with a quick run down of what had been taking place, knowing the gunslinger would not be satisfied at being shielded with the truth.  
  
"Where's Mary and Billy?" Chris asked, his first thought was still of his new bride and stepson.  
  
"Mary left Billy with Audrey King," Alex answered promptly, remembering she had not the chance to tell Chris why his wife was absent when Josiah had made his unexpected entrance. "I sent her home to get some rest because she was at your side most of the day."  
  
"Good." Chris nodded as his eyes started to cloud over.  
  
"I gather you sedated him." Chris heard Josiah's voice fade away in his ears.  
  
"It was the only way I could get him to stay still." Alex let out a sigh of relief as the morphine finally did its work and Chris Larabee drifted back to sleep, still muttering how he would get his revenge upon her later on. She had no doubt that he would make good on that threat but right now, he was quiet and she was grateful. By the sound of it, she was going to have her work cut out for her tonight.  
  
"He'll never let you forget this you know," Josiah remarked with a faint smile, unable to deny the admiration he felt at her audacity. There were not women who were willing or brave enough to drug Chris Larabee into submission when he did not wish to be.  
  
"Probably not," Alex returned his smile as she threw several items into her worn doctor's bag to replenish the stores she was going to need when she returned to the schoolhouse, hospital, whatever it was at this time. "Is everyone okay?" She asked as she gestured her readiness to leave and allowed Josiah to lead the way. Chris was more or less going to be asleep for the next five hours if the dosage of morphine she had given him succeeded in its work, so she would not have to worry about him trying to leave his sick bed prematurely.  
  
Josiah knew that she cared for all of them but was familiar enough with a woman's heart to give her the answer she wanted. "J.D.'s took a little too much smoke in when the fire broke out at the livery but mostly everyone is okay."  
  
"Oh good," she sighed with relief, glad to know that no more of her friends were hurt. "Josiah," Alex met his gaze as they were about to leave the clinic. "Its going to get bloody isn't it?"  
  
Josiah could not lie to her, not after what he had seen these last few hours. When he had hurried here after leaving Nathan and J.D., it felt as if he were walking into a page from the past. He had remembered travelling through towns in the south following the wake of a Union Army attack, trying to offer comfort to those who might need it. No one had been in the mood for preaching back then, not when so many had died and the words of God seem shallow and bitter.  
  
Four Corners felt a little like that now.

* * *

  
"I need help here!" Nathan shouted as he tried to hold down seventeen year old Luke Willis who had been at home sleeping in his bed after a hard day's work when a torch had flown through the open window of his bedroom and set his sheets on fire. By the time he was aware of the danger it was almost too late and now Luke was squirming in agony as the pain ate into him with such searing waves that he was more or less incomprehensible to everything else around him.  
  
Rain hurried to the side of her lover, not caring that she could not help him but that she had to be at his side to help him. She could see the pain in Nathan's eyes as he tried to remain unaffected by the screams of this boy whose flesh was raw before her. He might have beautiful once but she could not longer tell. His face was a mass of blood and raw skin. Swallowing hard, she forced away the terrible images of this boy's injuries and concentrated on helping Nathan to soothe his suffering.  
  
"What can I do Nathan?" She asked. Until now, she had been assisting with the injured in a minor way but less than an hour ago, she found herself embroiled in the most violence she had seen since her village had been attacked by Confederate renegades. Townsfolk, suffering everything from gunshot wounds to third-degree burns were being brought into the schoolhouse awaiting treatment from the two healers that had been working themselves into exhaustion since this had all began.  
  
"I need you to hold him down." Nathan said giving her a look that was filled with more than just gratitude but held the true love he felt for her. "I have to give him some morphine."  
  
"There now," she spoke into Luke's ear as she placed her hands on his body and whispered gently. "I know it hurts but you must stay still." She urged. "We can take the pain away for a bit but not if you are fighting us."  
  
"I can't stand it!" The boy fairly sobbed, his eyes wide open with terror at the pain. However, he had stopped fighting Nathan noticed, even though he was twitching in his efforts to control his agony.  
  
"I know," she continued her soft words, glancing at Nathan who was preparing the syringe for use. The healer urged her to continue; knowing that it would distract the poor boy until he had administered the morphine. "It won't be for much longer." She insisted and hoped that she was not lying to the boy as Nathan pressed the needle against his arm and broke skin.  
  
"I didn't smell it until it was too late!" Luke wailed. "I was so tired!" He started to cry fresh tears as he lamented this awful thing that had happened to him. "I worked all day at the farm and then I just was dog tired when I came home, I went straight to bed."  
  
"It's not your fault." Rain brushed the hair from his scorched brow. "You didn't know this was going to happen."  
  
"I should have!" Luke gushed and descended into loud sobs of pain and anguish at what was happening to him. Rain looked at Nathan, unable to keep the sorrow from her eyes, wondering how he could stand to hear such cries, not just from this one boy but from all the others he treated and healed over the years.  
  
"You'll start to feel a little better now," Nathan said quietly, hoping the drug would do what he had been unable to. There was no real way to cure burns of this magnitude and even though Luke was one of the worst cases he had seen so far, Nathan knew that there were many others awaiting his ministrations and he had to move on. Alex was at this moment conducting surgery on what were almost battlefield conditions.  
  
"Rain," he looked at her. "I need you to stay with him for awhile." He said having taken note of how she had been able to calm Luke with her voice. Ironically, he could empathize with the young man on this one point. How many times had Nathan himself gone to sleep with the memory of her sweet voice in her ear when she was not? "At least until the morphine starts to work."  
  
"Of course Nathan." She smiled at him with none of the anger he had seen when they had first returned to Four Corners. Nathan was glad, he did not like to argue with her and occasions like this tended to make a man more aware of how silly some things could be and how important others were to be.  
  
"Rain, I'm really glad you're here." He swallowed.  
  
She touched his cheek and kissed his lightly on the lips. "I am glad to be here Nathan but you must go." She prompted with a hint of mischief in your eyes. "You are needed."  
  
"We ain't even married yet and you're bossing me around already?" Nathan grinned at her and did not care at all if she did because she was right. He had to go there were many more than needed his help and the night was far from over for him.

* * *

  
"I think I'm going to be sick!" Julia Pemberton struggled to keep the contents of her stomach in place as she held the tray for Alex while the doctor tried desperately to remove the bullet buried deep inside Isaiah Hollister's back. The man was biting in a piece of corkwood she had given him for the purpose because his injury did not allow for him to be moved although that safety protocol was almost academic. The depth of the bullet lodged inside his spine was out of her reach no matter how hard Alex attempted to extract it.  
  
"Do it somewhere else!" Alex barked as she tried to keep Hollister still even though the man writhed with pain each time she attempted to remove the piece of lead that trapped inside his body. She could hear his groaning in her ears as he kicked hard as she inserted the clamp inside him to make another attempt. Alex was literally covered in blood; it seeped into her apron, into the sleeves of her shirt and splattered in thick rivulet across her neck and face.  
  
Julia turned away but remained where she was, aware that her presence was vital even if the grisly scene before her was more than she could stand. In the small room behind the schoolhouse, Alex was performing the surgery, Hollister's frantic screams of pain bounced off the walls. She saw Alex remaining calm and detached and wondered how the doctor was able to do it. There was no fear in her eyes as she worked, splattered with blood the harder Hollister struggled, no revulsion at being covered in his fluids even though it was becoming obvious even to Julia that the bullet could not be dislodged.  
  
Suddenly he stopped struggling all together and he heaved a gasp that possessed the disturbing substance of finality. Alex felt the life drain out of him with such abruptness that she was completely unprepared for it. "No!" She exclaimed, dropping the clamp immediately and rolling the man over on to his bloody back. Almost frantically, she searched for some sign that he was still living and could not even detect the faintest thread of a pulse. "Come on Isaiah!" Alex pressed her ear against the place in his chest occupied by his heart. "Don't give up on me!"  
  
Alex tried everything she could in her arsenal of medical knowledge to revive the man and Julia stepped back, watching in a mixture of sorrow and fascination at her determination. However, as the minutes ticked by, it became more and more apparent that there would be no miracle cures. Alex nevertheless continued to try, almost to the point of beating his chest to kick-start his heart into working again but none of it worked.  
  
"Alex," Julia said after she had set down the tray and approached her friend. "Its too late. He's gone."  
  
"No, he's not!" Alex snapped. "I can just think of something else. ."  
  
"Like bringing him back to life?" Julia retorted, not unkindly but because Alex needed to know she was not God to dispense life and death at will.  
  
Alex could say nothing to that statement and responded by stepping away from the Hollister's body. "I just couldn't get to that bullet." She sighed, trying not to let the frustration get to her. Alex retreated to the other corner of the room and started washing the blood off herself using the water in a small basin provided for the purpose. The colorless fluid was soon turned into the murkiness of crimson as Alex cleaned herself off, even though the stains on her clothes still remained.  
  
"I know," Julia said resting a supportive hand on her shoulder. "You did the best you could Alex, I could see that."  
  
"It wasn't good enough was it?" She swallowed and remembered the other task that was required of her now that Hollister was gone. "I have to go tell Hollister's wife, he didn't make it."  
  
Julia could say nothing to alleviate the burden of that duty for Alex and followed quietly as Alex left the room and stepped out onto the floor of the schoolhouse. Outside, Alex surveyed the scene and saw things were more or less slowing down. For the moment at least, there did not appear to be any more injured coming into the temporary hospital. She saw Rain and Inez helping tirelessly with the patients requiring care and noticed Nathan seemed almost as exhausted as she was. Hollister's wife Trudy and his daughter Emma saw her exit from the room and immediately hurried to her. As Alex felt her heart sink at what she would soon have to tell Trudy, she saw Vin and Ezra bringing in someone else.  
  
"Doctor Styles?" Trudy asked hopefully, her eyes begging Alex to deliver good news and the doctor squirmed inwardly at being forced to disappoint her.  
  
"I'm sorry Trudy," Alex said gently as she could, knowing that there was no real way to tell someone that a loved one had died that could make the pain any less. "I couldn't get the bullet out. It was too deep. He died on the table."  
  
Alex steeled herself for the tears that inevitably followed that revelation and found that she could not think of anything to say that would make the knowledge of the family's loss any easier. She could not even say it was a painless death because they would have heard him screaming while she had attempted to extract the bullet. Instead, she swallowed the bile that was in her throat and continued towards Vin and Ezra who was carrying someone who was obviously suffering from smoke inhalation.  
  
"Is it still bad out there?" Julia asked as she followed Alex to them.  
  
"Well, I think we have manage to maintain some semblance of control over the numerous infernos left by our Spanish friends." Ezra remarked as they put the man down on a near by cot where Alex immediately set to work examining him. Both lawmen were covered with the black of soot from the fire. Ezra had discarded his coat and his white shirt and waist coat was soiled with black smears of cinders from the smoke. Julia guessed that after they had chased the mercenaries out of the town, they had been assisting with getting the fires in town under control and she felt a tinge of concern not just for Ezra but for the tracker as well as she saw how exhausted they were.  
  
"We lost Hollister," Julia said grimly.  
  
"Damn." Vin whispered under his breath. "How many is that now?" The tracker muttered angrily, knowing that they had a few deaths tonight already, not simply from gunfire but also from the incendiary nightmare they had been enduring most of the night.  
  
"At least five." Julia answered because Alex was busy with her latest patients. "Most of the injuries have been smoke inhalation and severe burns but the gunshot victims are the ones who don't survive." She found herself casting a glimpse at Hollister's widow who was still sobbing with her daughter, not too far away.  
  
"I wonder what these scoundrels are going to do for an encore tomorrow night." Ezra frowned  
  
Julia looked at Ezra and Vin. "Tomorrow night? You think they'll be back tomorrow night?"  
  
"No reason to think they wouldn't." Vin retorted. "They're trying to scare us."  
  
"They're doing a good job." She shuddered, not at all liking the idea that they would have to endure all this again tomorrow night. "People are terrified and I have to admit so am I. I've heard talk from some who are thinking of getting out."  
  
"Now that will only get them killed." Ezra declared. "My dear, you are to tell those who are foolish enough to believe it is possible to run the blockade that there is a liable to be a reception committee waiting for them if they attempt to breach our isolation."  
  
"I did," Julia answered, remembering what Ezra had endured at Selena Quint's hands when he, Josiah and J.D. had attempted to get help in Sweet Water. "You two should take a few minutes. Inez has some food prepared," she directed her gaze towards the table at the far end of the room where Inez had left hot meals for those who needed it.  
  
"I think I might take you up on that offer Miss Pemberton," Ezra remarked. "Join me?" He looked at her suggestively and Julia decided it would not hurt to take a few minutes to herself.  
  
"Why not?" She replied. "Vin?" Julia looked at the tracker who seemed more interested in what Alex was doing.  
  
"I'll catch up with you later." He said distracted and took a step towards Alex as Julia and Ezra went on their way. Vin had been watching Alex tend to the man they had brought in and noticed something in her manner that was more than just the exhaustion.  
  
"How is he?" Vin asked when she had finally completed her treatment of her latest patient.  
  
"He's okay," she said softly. "A few days of rest and He'll be on his feet again. Can't say the same for Hollister." She replied bitterly and Vin realized that she was more upset about Hollister's death than she was letting on.  
  
"Come on," he took her by the elbow and lead her out of the building for a few minutes. "You need to get out of here."  
  
"Vin!" She protested, "I've got patients."  
  
"Looks to me like you've taken care of most of them." The tracker retorted, having observed that everyone appeared tended to already and she really needed to be out of here for a moment. In fact, after everything they had been through tonight, Vin himself, wanted to share a few minutes with her alone.  
  
"Don't argue with me Darlin'," he declared in a voice that told her that he was not taking no for an answer. "I'll carry you if I have to."  
  
"You wouldn't dare." She stared at him stubbornly, almost as if she were challenging him.  
  
"Try me." He looked at her with arms folded and a sparkle in his cobalt colored eyes daring her to defy him on this point.  
  
Alex had learnt enough about him by now to know that when he got it in his mind to do something, he could be even more obstinate than she was and just as immovable. "I'm going, I'm going." She muttered and frowned when she saw the smirk of triumph produced at her capitulation.  
  
"Bastard." She grumbled.  
  
"Nag." He grinned.  
  
Vin lead her out of the rear entrance of the schoolhouse, into the small patch of garden that was coming along quite nicely and would be something of a playground by the time school actually opened. They could still smell the stench of smoke in the air but it seemed far away for the moment at least. Alex stepped out under the stars and immediately felt some of the tension she had been enduring, melt away suddenly.  
  
"How you doing Darlin'?" He asked once they were alone in the quiet. Vin pulled Alex towards him and held her for a few minutes because he sorely needed to feel her against his skin and she needed a hug after what she had endured tonight.  
  
"I'm not too good. I hate losing patients. I feel as if I hadn't done enough." Alex tried not to cry but she could the emotion welling up inside her.  
  
Vin could appreciate that sentiment most prolifically right now. With Four Corners finally recovering from the vicious attacks by their captors, Vin had surveyed the damage done in lives and in property and wondered if there had been any way to prevent it. As one of the seven lawmen of Four Corners, Vin knew that he was not alone in his feelings of failure in this matter. They had to do something and he had a plan but before he could present it to the others, Alex had a right to know what he was intending. It took a long time for Vin to accustom himself to the idea that decisions on his life did not affect him alone now that he had a woman in his life who someday hoped to be his wife.  
  
"It is okay Darlin'." he stroked her hair gently as he held her, wondering how the presence of her could be so comforting to him. "You did what you had to. It ain't no fault but the men who did this that Hollister didn't make it."  
  
"Vin" Alex said pulling far enough away so that he could see her face, while still remaining firmly in his arms. "This town cannot survive another night like this. People are starting to slip into hysteria already. If this is just the first of these attacks, leading up to a massacre, you know how bad it could be."  
  
Vin knew perfectly well how much chaos the town could descend into if help was not forthcoming. With Chris out of the picture, morale was low and following what had taken place tonight, spirits had sunk even lower if such a thing was possible. Something had to be done and it had to be done now.  
  
"I'm working on it." He said quietly. "I think we may be able to get one man out of town. There are trails they don't know about, some old Indian tracks. I think someone with the know-how could make it through."  
  
Alex knew where this was going and she did not like it but could think of nothing to say to refute what he was trying to tell her because there was no other choice. "You mean you." She met his gaze.  
  
"I'm the only who make it through Darlin," Vin confessed, seeing by her eyes that she understood the situation even though she did not wish him to go.  
  
"I don't want you to go," Alex whispered as she embraced him again, laying her head against his chest once again. "But I know you have to so just promise me, you won't get yourself killed."  
  
"I won't." He smiled. "I don't dare make you mad."

* * *

  
It was almost dawn when the lawmen finally staggered into the saloon to decide their next course of action. Outside the fires had been brought under control and extinguish and folk were dispersing back to their homes for some well needed rest. Although each one of the seven wanted nothing more than to fall into their beds and get some well deserved rest, Vin had brought them together in the saloon to determine what they would now do. If any action was to be taken, it had to be done while they were still in the cover of dark. They could ill afford to waste another day waiting for nightfall where there was the real possibly of another attack like the one they had experienced tonight making another appearance.  
  
"Mr. Tanner, I hope whatever you have gathered us here for is of pressing importance that could not possibly wait for a few more hours while we acquired some well-needed repose," Ezra grumbled as he kept shifting in his chair in the hopes of it becoming comfortable enough to afford him a few minutes of sleep in its rigid confines.  
  
"Button it Ezra," Buck said with uncharacteristic annoyance. While he wanted to sleep too, he knew that they had to work things out now. Like all of them, he knew the mood in town was becoming increasingly tense and if something was not done soon, they would not have to wait for the mercenaries to massacre them, people would be hysterical enough to turn on each other. "What's on your mind Vin?"  
  
"We can't go through this again." Vin declared firmly and saw the others nod in agreement over that point. "People are getting killed or hurt. There ain't gonna be a town standing by the time those mercs are ready to cut us all down."  
  
"We are in no disagreement with you on this point Mr. Tanner," Ezra spoke up. "But it appears at the moment, we are caught in a stalemate. We cannot leave to summon help or abandon town in case they come back, so what other option is there left to us?"  
  
"Vin..." Josiah saw the flicker in the tracker's gaze and knew what was coming. "No. It's a bad idea."  
  
"I can make it through Josiah," Vin stated firmly.  
  
"Vin, you can't go out there alone!" J.D. exclaimed once they all became aware of what Vin was attempting to suggest to them. "There's bound to be some of them waiting for you!" With Chris already hurt, J.D. did not want to imagine the same thing happening to Vin as well.  
  
"I gotta agree with Josiah on this one," Nathan added his voice to the debate. "They're sure to be keeping watch on us more closely now, figuring we'd be panicking."  
  
"Which is precisely what we would be doing if we were to let you attempt this journey alone," Ezra declared. "I wish to get help as much as you Mr. Tanner but we are required here because sure as anything, those men will be back tomorrow night. I would bet my entire fortune on it."  
  
"You don't have a fortune." Vin retorted.  
  
"Which is why I would be unwilling to part company with what I have." The gambler returned smoothly.  
  
"Vin's right." Buck Wilmington said suddenly. All eyes turned to him as he poured himself a drink from the half-empty bottle in the middle of their table. "Vin's gotta go." He repeated himself.  
  
"He'll get himself killed," Josiah said firmly. "Chris would never agree to this."  
  
"Chris ain't here," Vin interjected. "But even if he was, he'd know I was right. We don't have a choice. We ain't gonna last five minutes defending this town on our own when those mercenaries decide to come. The only chance we got of saving this town and everyone we love is for me to get to Sweet Water and bring back help."  
  
"Chris wouldn't like it," Buck added in an unusual show of solidarity that Vin found surprising. "You're right about that." He looked at Josiah. "So he'd probably go himself. Well he can't do that and all we can spare is one man to make the run for Sweet Water. Anyone else at the table who think they can make it through better than Vin?"  
  
Ezra shrugged uncomfortably while Josiah remained silent as always, wearing a stony expression that kept his reluctance to admit that Buck was right. Even Nathan seemed unable to think of anything to say in favor of abandoning the plan.  
  
"I didn't think so." Buck frowned, unhappy at being forced to put things so bluntly and disliking it even less that the decision made could mean death to Vin Tanner if he were discovered or ambushed by the mercenaries that had brought this town to its knees in a matter of a day. He understood as they all did that Four Corners was not capable of withstanding a prolonged siege. Perhaps that was the intention, he thought bitterly, to drive them mad like rats in a cage.  
  
"When will you go?" Nathan asked finally, his question more or less representative of the other's reluctant agreement to this dangerous venture.  
  
"Before sunup," Vin said firmly, having already considered the route he would take long before they had gathered here. "It's best that I move under the cover of dark."  
  
"Do you think they'd be watching the town?" J.D. asked since no one had brought up the subject. As it was, he did not like to think of their number dividing for any reason, even with an imperative as crucial as this one. He knew that Vin's plans was their best shot of coming out of this alive and despite his reservations, had to concede that if anyone could find a way through the blockade it would be the tracker.  
  
"They might be," Vin replied, having considered that possibility. "Hopefully, I can slip away without being seen."  
  
"I hope so," Josiah grumbled. "Cause if anything were to happen to you, I ain't gonna be volunteering to tell your lady. You should have seen what she did to Chris."

* * *

  
The group of men had been watching the town for most of the night, even though their comrades had returned to their camp following the raid. As expected, not all the volunteers had made it out alive, which was probably why Diaz had offered an extra two hundred dollars for those who were brave enough to make the attempt. The men assigned to the town were given very specific instructions as to what they were required to do and they spent much of the evening, watching the town's efforts to fight the fires wondering with passing curiosity if the attempts would at all be successful.  
  
By the small hours of the night, it was apparent that the townsfolk had managed to subdue the flames that had threatened to wipe out their community and it was during this quiet period in its aftermath that they paid most attention to it. It did not take long for things to take place as they had anticipated. The woman who hired Diaz and his men had given them a laborious set of instructions, as well as the possibilities of who they would be facing.  
  
The lone rider's attempt to sneak out of town had been a worthy effort and had they not been expecting this course of action to be taken, he may well slip out of their reach. Unfortunately for him, that is, they were instructed at the cunning of the prey they might be forced to hunt.  
  
"He's reputed to be one of the best trackers in the Territory." Quint had told them. "After what we did tonight, you can guarantee, they'll make a run to get help and it will be him that would most likely make the attempt."  
  
It appeared that Quint was right for the tracker rode out of town in the middle of the night, relying on the moonless sky above to mask h is departure. They saw him almost immediately and held back long enough for him to believe that he had made good his escape and had evaded any watchful eyes if any had been present to keep watch upon the town. Once he disappeared over the darkened horizon, they dug their heels into their mounts and took up the pursuit.  
  
"Remember!" The leader among the hunters cried out. "Whoever brings him gets to claim the bounty on the body!"  


 


	6. Flight

When Chris Larabee woke up this time, he found that not much had changed from his revival the night before. He was still aching painfully, although it had declined into a constant throbbing rather than the extreme pain he had felt when he had first awoken. His head still felt viscous and slow as awareness returned to him slowly and he knew that much of this was attributed to the medication that Alex had ministered the night before. Chris was incensed that she had resorted to such tactics to keep him still but had to begrudgingly admit that it was probably for his own good anyway.  
  
Fortunately, this time he was ready for her and he was getting out of bed one way or another. Chris looked around for his clothes and noticed their absence with a slight frown. However, he was not to be deterred. Fighting the sluggishness in his limbs, not to mention the pain, Chris pulled the covers off himself, determined to leave this bed with nothing more than a sheet if it were necessary. The town was in trouble and he could hardly be wasting his time lying in bed like this when so much was going on. Putting his feet on the floor, Chris heaved himself upright and felt intense pain course through his chest at the attempt. Crushing the need to lie back down with ruthless efficiency, he continued with his flight from this room.  
  
Suddenly, he heard a soft and familiar sigh he knew all too well and found himself staring in surprise at the same chair that had been occupied by Alexandra Styles to be now taken up by Mary. She was covered in soot and dust, traces of smoke lingering on her pale skin and her golden hair was disheveled. He had no idea what she had gone through the night before but guessed immediately that she had come here to be at his side after it. Chris leaned against his bed for a moment, wondering if his escape would be impeded if he woke her and decided that he did not wish to rouse her when she looked so tired.  
  
Chris took a deep breath and started to move when Mary opened one eye and remarked with a smile. "Chris Larabee, you're going to have to move a little more quietly than that if you think you're getting past me."  
  
Chris let out a small groan and met her gaze. "I suppose you ain't gonna believe me if I tell you that I was fine."  
  
Mary was wide away now and sitting up languidly in the chair as she stretched her muscles and joints, still aching from last night's activities, not to mention her uncomfortable sleep on this rigid chair. "Not a chance." She remarked and rose out of her chair.  
  
"I didn't think so." He grumbled and saw her approaching him, perfectly aware that she was going to put him back into bed, physically, if the blaze in her blue-green eyes were anything to go by. Well, he was going to show her, he could get back into bed himself. When he lay back on the soft mattress, his body forced out a traitorous groan of relief.  
  
"What am I going to do with you, Mr. Larabee?" She asked sitting the side of his bed before leaning over and meeting his lips with a lingering kiss. Although he was too weak to do much else, he was still able to enjoy her silky lips against his and was given a pleasant reminder of why it was so good to be alive.  
  
"Help me out of bed?" He asked hopefully.  
  
"I don't think so," Mary chuckled. "You were hurt really badly Chris," she continued, the humor draining out of her face upon the revisitation of the memory of his being brought in by Vin and Buck, bloody and broken. "We almost lost you." She swallowed away her emotions because she did not want to mar the happiness of seeing him alive and relatively well.  
  
"It'll take more than one bullet to kill me." Chris smiled faintly, his hand reaching for her cheek as he gazed into her blue-grey eyes affectionately. "You look like you had a pretty rough night yourself."  
  
"We don't need to talk about that," Mary said evasively, not wishing to dredge up what difficulties she and the rest of Four Corners had endured the previous night, especially when it would upset him because he was trapped in this bed.  
  
"Mary," Chris said in that voice that demanded obedience even from her. "I need to know what is happening."  
  
Mary conceded with a nod, knowing that he would not rest until she had told him and this was a much better way than having him trying to climb out of bed and attempt to find out on his own. "We have some visitors last night. About a dozen of them. They rode in, shot things up pretty badly and started fires across town. We lost five people and spent half the night trying to put the flames up. Buck and the other killed a few of the mercenaries and we found out who the woman was."  
  
"Who?" Chris asked tautly, unimpressed by anything that he had been told so far.  
  
"Remember Quint?"  
  
"The mercenary that tried to kill you in Winston Falls?" Chris remembered the name clearly even though he had tried his hardest to block out the few days when Mary had made her trip to Denver.  
  
"Yes." Mary nodded. "She didn't die after all."  
  
"Quint is a woman?" His disbelief showed.  
  
"What is it with you men?" Mary frowned at that. "You've run into lady bounty hunters before, is it so hard to believe a woman can be a mercenary? That is really the height of sexism."  
  
"Mary..." Chris warned, not in the mood for it.  
  
"Sorry," she curbed her annoyance and continued. "The others are getting the town ready in case they come back tonight. We've got a lot of men mobilized and a sentry posted high to keep watch so we have some idea when they come our way."  
  
"We can't hold them off if they decide to rush us all at once." He muttered softly. "We have to get through the blockade.  
  
"Chris," Mary paused a moment, knowing he was not going to like what she was about to tell him but she could not in good conscience, keep it from him either. "Vin's gone."  
  
" _Gone_?" He stared at her.  
  
"He thought he could make it through under the cover of darkness using the trails he knew." Mary continued, seeing the dark look in his eyes at that revelation.  
  
"He went alone?" Chris declared, his voice raising an octave as it dawned on him that of course, Vin would go alone. The tracker would assume that he would have a better chance of breaking the blockade on his own since one man would be easier to go unnoticed than a group.  
  
"He thought it was best," Mary spoke in Vin's defense because Chris was genuinely angry that he had been allowed to do this thing.  
  
"Damn!" Chris swore and started to rise out of bed. "Get my clothes."  
  
"Chris you can't leave your bed!" Mary protested.  
  
"Get...my...clothes." He said firmly in no uncertain terms that he would do it himself if she did not help him.  
  
"All right," she decided, not liking this but feeling a sense of urgency in his demand that did not allow her to dare to refuse him. Somehow, she had this terrible feeling that Chris sensed Vin to be in terrible danger. "But Alex is not going to like this."  
  
"Alex is going to like it a lot less if Vin winds up dead." Chris retorted. "If they were smart enough to figure which way Ezra and the others would take to get to Sweet Water, don't you think they'd be smart enough to figure out that the only person we'd sent out of town would be _Vin_?"  
  
"You think they're waiting for him?" Mary said in a hushed voice, hoping that he was wrong and knowing in the pit of her stomach that he was not. He seldom was about such things.  
  
"I'd be surprised if they haven't already got him." He declared and grimaced slightly when he felt his chest remind him most prolifically that if he was going to do this fool thing of getting out of bed, he was going to have to take extreme care. As Mary helped him out of bed, Chris made a further declaration."If they haven't killed him, I'm sure as hell going to."

* * *

  
Vin Tanner was in trouble.  
  
He had left Four Corners as scheduled, believing that his departure by moonlight had gone unnoticed and that he possessed the skills to evade any detection in his journey to Sweet Water. Unfortunately, it was not to be as the mercenaries were on his trail no sooner than he had put enough distance between himself and Four Corners to make it difficult to turn back. Even though he could have slipped past them if he had wanted to return to Four Corners, Vin was determined to make it to Sweet Water. The town depended on him penetrating the blockade and getting help.  
  
Vin pushed Peso hard, knowing that the horse was going to have to get some rest soon as he rode across the flattened terrain. A dust storm had come out of nowhere, sending tiny fragments of grain sand in all directions, make the journey all the more tedious. However, the storm did make it very difficult for the men to main their pursuit of them. With tracks being blown away almost as soon as they were made and the low visibility of the terrain, he managed to keep ahead of them even though he knew that dust storms did not last forever. When it did finally clear, they would be coming after him with everything they had.  
  
With everyone counting on him making it to Sweet Water, Vin was determined that he would die before letting them catch up to him. Yet as he continued laboriously through the lashing winds that made it difficult to see, he knew he could not continue the journey in this weather. He had to sit out the storm in a place that would offer him shelter and knew of only one place that would offer that oasis. Hopefully, this Quint woman was not as thorough as he believed and she might not know about the Indian village. In any case, he intended to be long gone before the mercenaries had a reason to suspect the village was harboring him.  
  
It did not take him too far out of his way to reach the Indian Village and Vin did not see anyone behind him as he took the familiar trail to the community, even though it was a little windblown at the moment. Understandably, everyone was indoors when he arrived, having no wish to brave the inclement weather that was blowing hard at their tents and whipping up sand in all directions. Vin had no trouble finding Chanu and Kojay's tent since both men were always willing to share their hospitality whenever Vin visited. Ever since Vin had proved that Chanu had not been responsible for the murder of Claire Moseley, he had been received warmly by the village and its chief.  
  
Once the greeting and salutations had been made, Vin appraised Chanu of what was taking place in Four Corners. Since the village was inside the area contained by the mercenaries and the Indians were not prone to leaving their reservation, they had yet to encounter any kind of trouble. Still, the idea that they would be prevented from leaving should they wish it alarmed the Indian somewhat.  
  
"I don't think they're too interested in the village," Vin assured him even though he could not say for certain what intentions the mercenaries harbored. "I think they're after the town only."  
  
"Perhaps because of the new settlers." Chanu pointed out as they sat over a hot meal. "I believe the railroad is coming that way soon."  
  
"Yeah," Vin nodded, having forgotten all about the imminent arrival of the railroad. Construction crews had been laying down track for some time now and the path that the locomotives would take when the work was done would mean new arrivals to Four Corners, the likes of which would change Four Corners and possibly the immediate area considerably. "Destroying the town won't change things. The trains will still come whether Four Corners is there or not."  
  
"Maybe," Chanu said considering the problem for a moment. "How long is the railroad away from the town?"  
  
"A couple of months," Vin looked at the man oddly, wondering why he would ask that question. The plans to build the thing were more or less decided, surely the railroad would not change direction on a whim…unless those circumstances were serious enough where it was utterly necessary to do just that. "You don't think someone is doing this to chase away the railroad now do you?" He asked Chanu, his mind wrapping around the possibility, like a finding a lantern in the dark.  
  
"When my ancestors were slaughtered by your people," Chanu said quietly, casting his mind back to ages where a white man was an enemy, not a friend with whom the Old people could share a meal over the fireplace. "For a long time, no one would go back to the places where they had lived. Some believed that the land was stained with evil and cursed. Perhaps whoever wishes to harm your people, now wishes the land to be cursed in the same way."  
  
"I think you're right," Vin nodded, his mind following the train of thought that Chanu had opened for him. Since this entire situation had begun, the overriding question of why this was taking place at all had preoccupied the thoughts of the lawmen most. They knew the how and had an idea about the who but until now, none of the seven had guessed why of it all. It those responsible was attempting to create an example that would scare the railroad from laying down tracks in the area, then a massacre would do that quite spectacularly. The Railroad Company was always somewhat apprehensive about the criminal element that existed around Four Corners, particularly when they had brought in the late Marshall Bryce to bring in law and order to the area. A massacre at Four Corners would ensure the railroad company would pull up stakes and move their tracks elsewhere, leaving the land free of coming settlers, while eliminating the ones who were already and leaving a stigma of blood that would deter anyone from settling here.  
  
Vin looked at Chanu and felt a cold shudder run down his spine at the discovery. "You're right, Chanu." He said softly. "They are trying to curse the land but they're trying to curse it for the railroad."  
  
"Then you do not have a great deal of time." Chanu pointed out. "You must get to Sweet Water and bring help for your people."  
  
Vin thought about Alex, Chris and all the other people waiting for his return and armed with the knowledge of what he now knew, felt more anxious to be on his way. Suddenly, he did not care about the dust storm and decided that he would resume his journey to Sweet Water as soon as he had rested and shared a meal with Chanu since he was not certain when he would get the opportunity again.  
  
"I am told by Nathan that you are to be married," Chanu spoke after an uncomfortable pause, deciding that for the moment, a change of subject to something less grim might be in order.  
  
"Nothing so fancy." Vin shrugged, feeling embarrassed when confronted about any direct questions about Alex. Chris was the only person that Vin found he was able to confide in when it came to the doctor. "She wears the ring I got her and we have an understanding."  
  
"It is good luck to marry a medicine woman," Chanu smiled, unable to hide his amusement at Vin's shyness when speaking about the doctor who often accompanied Nathan to the village to help his people. "And she is a good woman."  
  
"She is." Vin found himself agreeing when suddenly, a young boy entered the tent calling frantically for Chanu even if his eyes were fixed on Vin.  
  
"What is it?" Chanu asked, not missing the way the boy had stared at Vin upon his entry.  
  
"There are men with guns here." He said quickly, his words running into a long sentence without pause. It was fortunate that Vin understood the boy even though he was speaking in his native tongue, saving Chanu the bother of translating.  
  
"How many?" Vin demanded, not giving Chanu a chance to speak.  
  
"Ten maybe more." The boy answered nervously. "I could not see well. I only know they came into our tent and asked me to find you."  
  
"You must go," Chanu said without hesitation. "If you leave now without them seeing you, I will tell them that you have come and gone." The young man rose to his feet. "I do not believe they will harm this entire village simply because you are not here."  
  
Vin was not sure and he liked even less the idea of tucking tail and running but he had no choice at this point. He could not endanger the entire village by remaining any longer. "I'm sorry Chanu," Vin said as he rose to his feet and peered outside the tent flap to see nothing but dust. "I shouldn't have come here. I done nothing but bring trouble to your people."  
  
"You have risked yourself for me, Tanner, many times." Chanu, wishing to hear none of that, dismissed the apology. "I would do no less than you would do for me. Now you must go and I will see to these men."  
  
Vin nodded and offered Chanu silent thanks as he looked outside and saw no one approaching, who might be a threat to him. Hurrying out into the storm, the wind blew sand into his face and made it hard to see as he ran quietly across the numerous tents scattered throughout the village. As he made his way towards Peso, Vin froze at the faint outline of riders on horseback through the gale force winds blowing at him. He prayed they did not see him but knew he was out of luck when he saw them turn in his direction.  
  
"Here he is!" One of them shouted. Vin could not tell which one had called out but needed to hear no more than that when he bolted forward. The weather though bad was not quite enough hide his flight and immediately, he saw the horses surging towards him. Vin paused long enough to draw his Winchester and empty the entire chamber at the oncoming horses. The animals panicked by the loud noises and the added disturbance of rushing wind, immediately reared up in fright, dislodging some of its riders and halting the progress of others. It was a narrow margin of time but it was enough for Vin to disappear through the maze of tents before him and reach Peso.  
  
Wasting no time once he reached his horse, Vin dug his heels in just as his pursuers were on top of him. Having no time to reload his shotgun, Vin could only continue his flight, hoping he could outrun the mercenaries until he had the window of opportunity to reload and perhaps delay them even further. As he pulled away from the village, hearing their angry shouts and the thundering hooves behind him over the sound of the grainy wind, he knew he was wide open.  
  
The first shots passed over him without harming him but the second series of bullets were close enough to feel even though the sound of the gale that was blowing at him the harder he pushed Peso to widen the gap between him and his hunters. Vin was hardly surprised when he felt one bullet slam into his shoulder, almost knocking him off his mount from the force of it. He uttered a soft cry of pain but knew instinctively that he was lucky. Had he been hit any lower, he would have endured the same fate as Chris and been completely useless to those who needed him to reach Sweet Water.  
  
Despite the pain, he continued forward. He had no choice in the matter.  
  
He had to.  
  
"Jose hit him." The mercenary declared once he had joined his companions who were still at the village. A small group of riders still remained in the Indian reservation because they had been searching its expanse when the others had seen Tanner. They remained on top of their horses, demanding answers from the Chief and his son as to what Tanner's intentions were now that he was forced from the village prematurely. Both men had been unable to say what the tracker planned beyond the obvious attempt to break the blockade, however, the leader of the group, Diaz's trusted lieutenant Castille knew they would not tell the mercenaries anything even if they did have the information.  
  
"Are the others still on his trail?" Castille asked, not at all reluctant to give up the bounty on the tracker's head when it could enhance the already substantial fee they were being paid for this enterprise. He had plans to give up this life and return to Mexico to buy land with his money. He was letting nothing get in the way of that, nothing at all.  
  
"Yes," Jaime nodded. "He is still trying to get past the blockade but he is hurt and the winds are harsh, it will slow him down." The man said confidently, having seen the shot himself and knew despite the poor visibility of the dust storms, that he had been hit.  
  
"Good." Castille declared with approval and cast his gaze over the small village. It was little more than a collection of tents and huts that did look very impressive, neither was the Chief and his son who had assured him that Tanner had come and gone. Although they had not lied to him, Castille could not ignore that they had given Tanner refuge and to the mercenary, that was not acceptable. The essence of keeping control through fear was enforcing the consequences for those who did not obey. A lesson needed to be taught to these people so they would harbor no more people taking flight from Four Corners. "We will join them after."  
  
"After?" Jaime looked at him in question.  
  
"Yes," Castille met his gaze. "After we burn this place down."

* * *

  
"How could you let him go!" Chris Larabee demanded once he was in the company of his men inside the jailhouse, having asked Mary to summon them while he got a full appraisal of what was happening. Although neither Mary or Alex was very happy to see him out of bed, Mary had to admit that seeing Chris out of bed had lifted the spirits of town. Even with her helping him to the jailhouse, his effect on the town was immediate and gave them a sense of reassurance that the leader of the seven would soon find some way to deal with their present crisis.  
  
"Now hold on a minute Chris," Buck spoke up in their defense as Chris was nestled behind the desk, obviously in pain but hiding it for their benefit. "We had no other choice."  
  
"They ain't stupid Buck." Chris returned, unwilling to let go of his anger at the present moment because he knew what was at stake, even better than they did he suspected. "If this Quint woman knew Ezra, Josiah and J.D. by sight that means she's been keeping a close eye on us for quite some time. She would know that an attack like the one last night would get us panicking. If she is as smart as I think she is, she would have had men watching the town and expecting one of us to leave."  
  
"Damn," Ezra swore under his breath, not wanting to reiterate that he had considered this a bad idea, to begin with, but had allowed himself to be swayed by the urgency of the situation to discard his reservations. "Suffice to say the damage is done, Mr. Larabee. I would suggest we turn out attention as to how we are to help Mr. Tanner if you are right instead of this continued debate on where the blame ought to be laid if any."  
  
Chris frowned, knowing that Ezra was right and feeling a little guilty at being so hard on his friends when their actions had only been borne out of a deeper sense of responsibility to the town that they all guarded. "You're right," Chris found himself conceding. "I'm sorry I lost my temper a little."  
  
"These are the times that try us," Josiah said with a faint smile, pleased that this discourse had been allowed to dissipate. There were more important things to discuss at the moment and now that Chris was with them, perhaps their leader might have some better solutions to their problem.  
  
"You said it," Nathan remarked and Chris noticed how exhausted the man appeared to be. Nathan had not liked Chris' emergence from bed but had appeared too tired to argue with him when Chris had first appeared in the jailhouse with Mary's aid. He supposed if he were pulling double duty, not only as the town's defenders but also as one of only two healers in town, Chris would be similarly tired himself. "So the question is, can we help Vin?"  
  
"We ain't got any idea of where he is right now," Buck confessed. "He said he was taking trails out of town that ain't on any map so that means he could be anywhere."  
  
"If they haven't got him." J.D. pointed out, hating to think those bandits might have their hands on Vin as well as shooting up Chris so badly.  
  
"Let us keep some optimism here shall we, Mr. Dunne?" Ezra looked over his shoulder at the young man.  
  
"There ain't much we can do." Chris sighed, wincing slightly as he leaned back in the chair and taking note of the way Nathan was paying attention to him. No doubt if the healer thought for one moment, that all this was becoming too much for Chris, he would probably carry the gunslinger back to Alex's clinic. "We have no idea where he is even if we wanted to get help to him. I hate to say it but Vin's on his own and we ain't got the men to spare to go after him anyway."  
  
The mood turned decidedly somber after that revelation was made and no one spoke for a few seconds as they all considered what that actually meant if Vin was indeed trouble. However, each of them, though voicing it to no one, knew what the tracker was capable of and if there was one man among them all that could evade those mercenaries and make it to Sweet Water, it would be Vin Tanner.  
  
Finally, it was Chris who broke the silence. "Mary tells me you had sentries posted."  
  
"Yeah," Buck nodded distractedly. "After last night, we figured it be a good idea since I don't think that attack was a one time deal."  
  
"They're softening us up," Josiah added helpfully.  
  
"They certainly have people terrified and contemplating the notion of attempting to run the blockade," Ezra replied, remembering what Julia had been telling her earlier that morning. The morning had done nothing but magnify the glare of their troubles underneath the light of day and people were becoming increasingly agitated.  
  
"Well these mercenaries have got us in a corner and they know it." Chris declared. "I guess it comes down to whether or not we can hold them off when the times comes for them to throw everything they got at us." He paused for a moment, thinking about how he and his friends would handle the final assault when it came. He thought of the Seminole village and what they had done there. The situation at the village had not been as dire as this one but had its share of peril as well. The Seminoles were barely armed and the village was little more than a collection of mud huts but they had defended it, thanks to the collective efforts of the entire community. Perhaps what was needed here was a little dose of that.  
  
"J.D.," Chris said after a moment. "Go to all the hardware places in town and let's get a stock count of how much dynamite there is."  
  
"You have a plan, Mr. Larabee?" Ezra met his gaze, with a raised brow. Indeed, his request had captured all their attention.  
  
"Yeah I do," Chris said with a slight grin. "We've got guns, I'm pretty sure we've got dynamite and blasting caps. There are enough people in town who know how to shoot straight and we don't have an alternative, so I say let em come cause when they get here, we're capable of giving them a reception they ain't likely to forget."  
  
"Now those are fighting words," Buck grinned and leaped off the chair he was sitting in and strode towards J.D., "come on kid," he patted J.D. on the arm. "Let's go see about that dynamite." In a moment, he and J.D. were out of the room and Chris turned his attention to the rest of the plan forming in his head.  
  
"Nathan," the gunslinger turned his attention to the healer. "You and Alex start moving the wounded into cellars, any place that can't be reached by someone with a gun, who knows how to use it. The schoolhouse is too open and being the largest building in town, it's the only one that could be used as a hospital, it'd be an easy target so I want all the wounded scattered around where they can't be seen."  
  
"Okay," Nathan nodded, seeing the sense in that. "Does that include you?" He could not resist but asking.  
  
Chris threw him a look and turned to the Josiah and Ezra, "We're going to gather the women and children and keep em someplace safe, we'll need any man that can shoot to be on this. We don't know when they're coming but chances are it can't be too far away. It will only be so long before the outside world starts wondering why Four Corners is cut off and it's likely the army that will be here to investigate. They can't afford that so if they move it will be in the next few days, that means we ain't got a lot of time to get ready."  
  
"The man is on a roll." Ezra could not help feeling some measure of relief at having something to do that offered some glimmer of hope.  
  
"What about our guests tonight?" Josiah spoke up. "Chances are, they'll be coming back."  
  
"And we will be waiting for them," Chris said with a smile that held no warmth but cold menace. "After all, like Ezra said. I'm on a roll."

* * *

  
With a purpose and a plan laid before them, the lawmen and Four Corners set to work immediately, fortifying their the town against the return of the mercenaries who were bound to continue their campaign of terror. As anticipated, Buck and J.D. did manage to get their hands on a decent cache of dynamite and immediately implemented them in strategic locations around the town, in much the same way they had done when fending off Dicky O'Shea's hired guns.  
  
Unfortunately, consideration had to be given to the fact that this was not some bare patch of land that had yet to be settled but a town full of buildings and people, thus the charges were set in suitable distance from the principality of Four Corners.  
  
None of the dynamite would be used tonight however for Chris wished that to be a surprise kept a secret as long as possible. As it was, they had not many things going for them without sacrificing the element of surprise when they attempted to launch a formidable defensive position when the mercenaries made their final move against the town. Chris though injured and conducting much of his leadership from a chair since it was the only way either Mary or Alex for that matter would permit him to participate, supervised everything and as suspected his presence did a great deal for morale. With Chris Larabee directing things, the entire town launched themselves into the defense of Four Corners with the same vigor as they had displayed when Royal and James had sent hired guns to raze their town to the ground.  
  
In the meantime, the women took care of moving the sick and wounded into basement cellars and any place that would not provide a visible target during the fighting. Realizing that Nathan was needed to help with the preparation to mount the town's defenses, Alex and Mary took charge of moving women and children to places of safety. Homes were vacated and the ones selected for hiding places were fortified with boards over windows, passages that could offer an intruder entry were sealed off so that there would be one way in or out and that entryway would be easily defended. Chris had absolutely insisted upon this and much of the day was spent securing these homes for the final assault.  
  
Alex moved her serious patients to the cellar beneath Josiah's church, finding some sense of irony in the location and wondering if Mexican bandits had any qualms about violating the sanctity of holy ground. She wanted her injured patients to have as much good fortune as divine power could offer. Alex did not flinch when she was forced to wear a gun since she was one of the few women in town other than Mary and Casey Well who could handle a weapon with any accuracy.  
  
During this time, however, Alex had made a very astute observation in Rain's handling of patients. The young woman from the Seminole village was extremely good with patients and she saw them responding to Rain in a way that made them most manageable when it was time for them to be moved. Alex filed that information away from the time being, although the thought was firmly planted in her mind.  
  
Sentries were posted on the highest buildings in Four Corners, so a bird's eye view could be afforded of any approaching travelers or in this case nocturnal visitors bent on causing harm as they had the night before. With half the town having suffered some effects of the arson, the lawmen were well aware of how debilitating another series of fires could have on the town not to mention its demoralizing consequences. Chris needed everyone's full attention focused on what was coming at them and could not afford to have anyone distracted by notions of doom. The moment the sun began to set, the sentries took up position. Buck and Ezra taking first since both men had volunteered and Ezra whose keen eye mostly used for detecting card cheats could be just as efficient locating incoming riders in the dark.  
  
By the time the sunset on the second day of their siege, the town of Four Corners was far from being able to repel a united assault by all the mercenaries. However, they were more than adequately prepared to deal with the nighttime raiders who had caused so much discourse the night before. Josiah, J.D., and Nathan took up position on the rooftops at strategic corners of the town that would provide optimum firing range. Chris knew that when the raiders did arrive, it was in everyone's business they be put down fast before they had any chance to commit further crimes of arson.  
  
In any case, everyone was holding their breaths in anxiousness to see how they would fare against the mercenaries tonight because it would give all a good idea of how they equip they would be to deal with the larger attack when the time came.  
  
J.D. Dunne had not spoken to anyone about what had happened in the livery when the fire had raged through it and he had been forced to kill the remaining horses to spare them from an agonizing death of being burnt alive. No matter, how many times he had tried to justify what he had done to himself, he could not shake the feeling of guilt that he should have found a way to free them. He could not forget their heavy breathing, full of fear at the fire raging around them or how instead of alleviating those terrors, he had been forced to put a bullet in their brains as if dying quickly made it any more merciful.  
  
He stared into the darkness, feeling especially guilty because he hated those bandits for making him do that, he could barely think straight. Even when they had attacked Casey, he had not felt this kind of rage and felt ashamed that she should come second over a bunch of stupid horses that were not even his. Twirling his hat over his finger because putting it on would only give away his position, as Buck told him repeatedly, J.D. considered his thoughts while awaiting the signal from Ezra and Buck that the quarry was arriving.  
  
Suddenly, he heard the small flip door to the roof opening and saw Casey emerging from the lower floor. He had not seen her all day because he had been busy with the town's fortifications and was glad to see when she appeared, that she was looking better following her ordeal.  
  
"Casey, what are you doing here?" J.D. asked.  
  
"I come to keep you company." She said with the same sweet smile that had often the contradictions in her manner. Casey was not the kind of girl that wore dresses and only spoke about the silly things that other girls he had known in his life tended to prattle on about. She was terribly practical, his Casey with no idea or desire for that matter to seduce byways of sweet words. However, J.D. often found that her honesty was almost as alluring and she knew more ways under the sun to drive him crazy than any woman alive and Buck often said those were the kind of women you married.  
  
"Thanks, Casey but I'm supposed to be on watch." He reminded her although he could not deny that it was good to see her feeling better.  
  
"Its okay," she replied sitting next to him. She was wearing a dress today, probably borrowed from one of the girls in town considering what had been the state of her apparel when she had come into town yesterday morning. "I won't stay long. Just wanted to see you that's all."  
  
"How's your aunt Nettie?" J.D. asked, having been so busy that he had forgotten to ask Nathan how the old lady was doing.  
  
"She's awake," Casey frowned, not liking one bit the condition they had found Nettie in, even though she was still alive. Like J.D., Casey had her own feelings of guilt, particularly in leaving her aunt to those men. Although she understood the necessity of it, when she heard what had happened to Elizabeth Bartell, Casey still wished she could have stood at her aunt's side when Nettie bravely faced those men. "She's still pretty weak but Doctor Styles said that she'll be up and about as soon as she gets a few days rest."  
  
"That ain't likely to happen with your Aunt Nettie," J.D. remarked, knowing perfectly well how tenacious the old woman could be. Even Vin was a little afraid of her and Vin was never afraid of anything.  
  
"Probably not," Casey giggled as she slid next to him and beamed when J.D. placed an arm around her and held her close. "But that's Aunt Nettie." She paused and let the moment pass before she turned to him again. "J.D., I'm real scared."  
  
"Its gonna be okay Casey," J.D. assured her. "Chris is up and around now and he's got a pretty good plan for dealing with those mercenaries when they finally come into town."  
  
"We don't even know when that's going to be!" Casey exclaimed, feeling a slight shudder as she thought about the man who had almost raped her and knew that was the fate of every woman in town if the mercenaries should have to break through their defenses. She did not want to think of J.D. ending up like Elizabeth's father, shot dead trying to defend her honor, only to have it taken away anyway, along with his life.  
  
"It doesn't matter," J.D. said trying to sound confident but unable to deny that she had a point. "We're ready for them when they come."  
  
"What if they come first thing in the morning?" Casey countered. "We're only halfway through with our preparation to fight them off. If they come early, we wouldn't be ready for them and they could kill us all."  
  
"Casey," J.D. looked at her firmly. "Ain't none of that is going to happen. You hear me? We know what we're doing and we may not have a lot of time but we're working as fast as we can and it ain't just us that's going to fight. The rest of the town is standing behind us. We'll beat them. I know it." He declared confidently, having more faith in his friends then he did at their preparations. In truth, he knew that she had struck a nerve inside of him with the declaration that they had no idea what the enemy was planning or how they would strike when the launched that final offensive. If only they knew. ..  
  
The idea began to take shape in his head and J.D. told himself that not only was he insane but was liable to get himself killed if he continued on his present train of thought. However, the thing was, Inez had taught him some Spanish so he knew enough to get by if he had to, not to mention his small stature could allow him to pass for a Mexican under the cover of dark with a wide enough sombrero at his disposal.  
  
"You better get going now Casey," J.D. said distracted, still thinking about the dangerous idea forming in his head. He knew it was quite that if he went through with the plan he was gravitating towards, he could die not to mention what Chris and Buck would do to him if by some miracle he did survive and got back to tell them what he had done.  
  
"Can I stay a little longer?" She pouted a little.  
  
"Okay," he grumbled. "This isn't a night out you know," he declared. "There could be mercenaries turning up at any minute."  
  
"You'll protect me," Casey laughed and rested her head on the crook of his shoulder, making him frown even though she felt good pressed up against him. He could smell the scent of her hair and wondered how it was she always managed to take the faint aroma of wildflowers with her everywhere she went.  
  
"You don't see Julia or Rain climbing up to be with Ezra or Nathan." J.D. pointed out.  
  
"Well I ain't Julia or Rain," she sat upright and met his gaze. "Besides, they're older than me and I think they're well. ." she struggled to find the most delicate way of putting it without embarrassing herself although her cheeks were already flushed red. "They're women of the world in all things."  
  
"Women of the world?" J.D. exclaimed, having no idea of what she was talking about. "What's that gotta do with anything?"  
  
"J.D.!" Casey exclaimed exasperatedly. "I'm sure Julia and Ezra are known to each other." She said delicately.  
  
He still stared back at her.  
  
"In the Biblical way!" She groaned, unable to believe he could be so immature, particularly after she had caught him in the stables with that female bounty hunter.  
  
"Oh." J.D. could only utter that muted response but recovered well enough to reply. "We could be too." He grinned.  
  
"J.D. Dunne!" She cried out outraged and pushed him away from her. "You should be ashamed of yourself!"  
  
With that, she stormed off the roof and disappeared through the doorway on the floor before he could say anything else to stop her. J.D. heard the door slam shut and could only shake his head and ask the solitude around him with confusion. "What just happened here?"

* * *

  
The dust storm had arrived in Four Corners.  
  
It swept through the town blowing dust and sand across the meandering streets, slamming shutters against windows and forcing everyone inside except the sharpshooters who were maintaining their position, certain that the weather would not keep the mercenaries away. With the coming of twilight, the visibility dropped even further and those stationed as sentries and lookouts were hard pressed to see anything approaching the town from a distance. Nevertheless, the town remained on a vigil, remembering all too well the perils that taken place the night before and were not about to become complacent even if the weather seemed too harsh to ride.  
  
"Chris, you've done all you can." Mary tried once again urging her husband to get back to bed since he had been supervising things all day and needed to rest. He was still wounded badly and although it was sheer will alone keeping him on his feet, Mary knew that it was not inexhaustible. "I think you need to rest now, besides I don't think they're coming."  
  
"They're coming," Chris replied coolly, unprepared to move out of his chair in the saloon. He could see the entire main street from his position by the door and he was not about to leave when his men were out there, braving the storm beyond the swaying batwing doors. "I know they are."  
  
"Even if they are," Mary pressed, "I'm sure Buck and the others can handle it."  
  
"Mary," he gave her a look that said more or less that he would remain unmovable on this subject. His men were out there and while he loved her and had responsibilities to her, Chris could not forget the responsibilities to the men who had ridden by his side during the past two years. "I'll be fine but I have to be here."  
  
Mary frowned, not liking the whole notion one bit but swallowed her annoyance because this is what he was. She had known this before she married him and she was not going to start making demands on him now that they were man and wife. Besides, she had to trust that Chris knew his limits, even if he could be the most stubborn man she had ever met. "All right but promise me, when this is over, you get to bed please and stay there?"  
  
"I promise that I'll get some rest when this is done but just for a while okay?" Chris conceded, allowing his hand to brush her cheek and offered her a smile as he did it. They held each other's gazes for a moment, taking a few minutes of personal time in a saloon that was devoid of people since no one was in the mood for drinking when trouble could start at any minute.  
  
The mood was shattered when suddenly Buck burst through the doors and announced. "They're here!"  
  
"How far away?" Chris asked, aware that they had to be pretty close to be seen in this weather.  
  
"A few minutes," Buck said grimly. "Maybe less."  
  
The big man took up position next to the doorway of the saloon while Chris shifted his chair so that he could take aim from the window and still be protected by the structure. "Mary, get upstairs with Inez." He ordered, not wishing her to be anywhere in the immediate vicinity. He had enough things to worry about without having to concern himself about her being hit by incidental fire.  
  
She nodded and paused long enough to kiss him on the mouth quickly before uttering a soft whisper in his ear. "Be careful, please?" She looked at him with a silent plea.  
  
"I will," he smiled. "Now get upstairs." Chris prompted and watched her hurry up the staircase into the safety of the rooms on the upper floor.  
  
Once she was gone, Buck gave him a concerned look of his own. "Chris are you sure you're up to this?"  
  
"Of course I am," Chris said automatically, watching the streets for the first signs of the raiders. He positioned the rifle on the window sill, using it as support as opposed to exerting his own physical strength, attempting to conserve as much of it because he knew was perfectly aware of how badly he was injured. The pain had been with him all day and although Alexandra Styles had given him a proper lecture about it, she did understand why he felt the need to be on his feet, despite doctor's orders and have administered some mild painkillers that helped somewhat.  
  
"All right pardner," Buck decided he was not going to say another word on the subject because it was good having Chris on deck. "Let's do this."

* * *

Once Ezra saw the silhouettes move through the dark swirling expanse before him, he knew that the mercenaries had made their long-anticipated return. Giving the signal to Buck who was on a clear line of sight on the ground, Ezra watched him hurry away, no doubt to let the others know what was happening. With his duty as sentry now passed, Ezra reached for the rifle that was leaning against the edge of the roof and recoiled beneath it far enough to be hidden but not so far that he could not see the riders on their steady approach.  
  
They closed the distance between themselves and the town in good stead, pushing their horses so hard that Ezra could almost hear the animal's strained pants as they were forced to fight wind and sand in this harsh weather. Ezra had divested himself of his hat for it had trouble staying on his head and was content with protection from the elements by his long tan coat. Across the street, he could see Josiah, Nathan, and J.D. making similar preparations and wondered if this effort was going to have the desired effect that Chris wished it to achieve. Ezra could not say that he disliked Chris' idea, going on the offensive for a change since they had been doing nothing but struggling to keep up ever since this entire situation had begun.  
  
So far no one outside the circle of the seven and their loved ones had mentioned the name of Guy Royal and Stuart James but Mary was right, they had the money to do this, not to mention they had the most to gain with the destruction of Four Corners. Suffice to say, proving it was going to be difficult but there was more than one way to skin a cat and Ezra knew for a fact that Chris had every intention of seeking out all those methods.  
  
The thundering of several riders, Ezra had not been able to see how many exactly were on approach to town but was able to count rough a dozen. He could not see torches in their hands and wondered what misdeeds the intended on committing on this particular night. The pounding of hoof beats against the dirt ground managed to rise above the sound of the wind and Ezra raised his rifle and prepared to shoot the moment they had entered town limits. Chris wanted no quarter given and although their illustrious leader had not liked the idea of picking the mercenaries off like this, they had shed first blood and any mercenary killed now, would be one less when the final attack came. Ezra saw Josiah who was the nearest in sight, nod once in his direction and poised to take aim.  
  
They appeared at the end of the street and made rapid progress down the length of the road taken by most incoming travelers into Four Corners. Ezra raised his hand as he watched their approach, having been instructed by Chris to give the signal to fire once they were in optimum firing range. The others were watching him closely and Ezra waited until the mercenaries were close enough to be prevented from turning back and fleeing when he dropped his hand.  
  
Gunshots exploded loudly, deafening the sounds of wind and scaring it away to some far away place where no one noticed it as pandemonium descended in the group below. Bodies immediately felt to the ground and riderless horses bolted up the street. Chris had listened closely to their recollections the night before and noted when the mercenaries had divided into the smaller groups and had decided when planning his defense of the town, that it would be best if they were taken down before that could happen.  
  
Angry cries of indignant outrage were heard as bullets were sent back at them although as suspected, the intruders had difficulty spotting the lawmen from their hiding places. Ezra paused to reload and noted that several more had dropped to the ground and lay in the dirt unmoving. The number had been significantly curtailed as a few attempted to withdraw and discovered just how potently they had been ensnared in the trap that had been planned for them. Ezra flinched instinctively as a bullet impacted on the wooden edge near him, sending splinters flying in his direction but not enough to hurt him. Josiah had reloaded and was firing furiously into the thickest part of the remaining mercenaries and Ezra raised his gun to his fire to the gun battle at the same time another mercenary fell off his mount to his death.  
  
The ground was littered with corpses now and the remaining riders were having trouble coordinating as their horses stumbled about, trying to avoid stepping on the bodies as most disciplined horses were trained to do so, hampering their attempts to retreat. Ezra fired, killing two men with shots to the chest because anything more fatal that than required far too much precision and they all disliked having to fight like this. Even Ezra was of the belief that a man had the right to see the face of his attackers and felt somewhat uncomfortable about killing the mercenaries in this manner even though they had all richly deserved it. Still, if Chris Larabee sanctioned such a plan than the situation must indeed warrant it for Chris had very strict rules to how he faced an enemy as well and for the gunslinger to abandon those guidelines even by the slightest degree, indicated how grave their predicament was.  
  
Only two men remained on their horses now, the rest of their companions were nothing more than corpses covering the ground before them. The fear in their eyes even from the top of the roof was present and Ezra recalled Chris' other instruction and decided that it was time to implement those orders. Raising his arm long enough for the others to see him but not so that he got himself shot, Ezra gave the order to cease fire. Immediately the lawmen stopped firing although their guns were still trained on the mercenaries should any of them attempt to leave.  
  
"We have men positioned in several key areas around you Sir," Ezra called out to the remaining mercenaries. "Either you drop you firearms where we can see them or you will end up the same way your friends on the ground before you."He saw them debate their situation, their faces dark with anger at the death of their companions but they were still in control of their reason to know that they still were in hair's breadth of dying should they chose to ignore the advice given.  
  
"How do we know you honor your promise not to shoot us down once we are unarmed?" One of them cried out.  
  
"You do not," Ezra replied automatically. "However, if we wish to kill you we would have done so already. It really makes no difference to us whether you are armed or not. Do it our way and you may have a chance of leaving this town alive."  
  
They pondered their options for a few seconds before coming to the realization that they had little choice but to surrender. After another a few seconds of heated debate, the mercenaries threw their guns to the ground and glared upwards, unable to see where the demands had come, only knowing that it had been delivered from one of the many dark roofs surrounding them.  
  
"They're all yours Buck!" Ezra called out, knowing that Buck Wilmington was listening very closely as planned. By now, J.D. would be on the ground, offering Buck cover while he, Josiah and Nathan remained just a little longer to ensure that the mercenaries did not try anything foolish. Ezra had not expected the plan to be executed so flawlessly and hoped that the second act progressed as smoothly.  
  
Buck Wilmington saw J.D. appear at the doorway of the building he had been assigned to and made his move at that point. Stepping out into the whistling wind, he noticed J.D. remained out of sight as he approached the men on horseback, with both guns pointed at them as he searched the ground for their discarded weapons. They glared at him with black hatred and Buck knew that both were itching to make a run for it.  
  
"I would not advise it," Buck said as if being able to read their minds. "You've got a better chance of getting out of here alive then you do if you try to run because I will shoot you dead and if I don't, my friend behind you will and not to mention the guns aimed at you from the roof life. I reckon you wouldn't make it down half the street before you end up like these poor souls here." Buck glanced at the bodies littered across the street, bodies riddled with the fatal wounds of numerous bullets.  
  
"What do you want?" One of them asked as he picked up their guns after finding them and tucking both weapons in his belt.  
  
"Get off your horse," Buck ordered and watched them reluctantly dismount their mounts. Only one of the mercenaries was Mexican, the other was clearly American although it was hard to tell because the sandstorm had them both covered in dust. It hardly mattered Buck supposed as J.D. stepped out of the shadows, guns aimed at their direction as Buck gestured to them to get moving.  
  
"What do you want with us?" The Mexican who was clearly the dominant one of the two asked.  
  
"Nothing that you need concern yourself with until we get there," Buck replied, allowing them to pass by him and took position behind them, prepared to shoot at the slightest deviation from the path he intended them to take. "To the saloon over there." He ordered, directing them towards the Standish Tavern.

* * *

  
Chris Larabee waited until Ezra, Josiah, and Nathan to arrive before he faced the mercenaries once again. With Buck and J.D. standing next to him, hands ever present on their guns while Chris held court like he was king facing two condemned men, they sat before him across the table, fear visible in their eyes as they faced the gunslinger. Chris did not make it any easier for them, staring at them hard with eyes of cold hatred, intimidating even though he was injured.  
  
As expected, any questions that Buck and J.D. had asked about the camp and their plans had been met with indifference. Chris had expected as much. If these men were anything like the outlaw rabble they were accustomed to dealing with, they might have stood a chance of getting some answers. Unfortunately, being mercenaries, loyal to only one man in charge, made betrayal almost impossibility. In any case, that was not why they were here.  
  
"You're not very tough are you, when you're expected?" Chris asked coolly, breaking the silence in the room finally.  
  
"We got nothing to say to you." The Mexican was covered in stubble and dirt and was no more than thirty years old. The edge in his eyes told Chris he killed well and rarely without good reason. Chris could almost guess his life story just by the way he carried himself. Ex-soldier unable to think of being anything else and scrambling for what there was in the wake of past glories.  
  
"I wasn't interested in hearing you speak." Chris drawled indifferently, doing it better than either of the two men before him. "You're alive because I need messengers and you're it."  
  
"What sort of message?" The Caucasian of the two asked. He was just like any of the would-be gunslingers or outlaws that Chris might find at Purgatory any day of the week. While the Mexican might ride out of loyalty to the man he had seen in the camp yesterday, this person rode strictly for the money.  
  
"Well my friends kind liked the idea of just sending back your hides on your horses but I talked them out of that because it'd be messy and we ain't got the bother for it," Chris said with a faint smile, his eyes sparkling with menace as he regarded the rest of the lawmen. "I want you to go back to Quint, I think that's her name, isn't it?"  
  
He saw them both exchanged the barest hint of a glance and knew that it was and that they knew perfectly well whom he was referring to. "I see you know her."  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about." The Mexican declared, staring furiously at his companion to say nothing further.  
  
"Listen up," Chris leaned closer to them so there would be no mistaking their position. "You're alive because I need a message taken back to her. You cause any more trouble than you're worth and you'll die right here." He knew the ex-soldier would not break but his friend would. The man was poised on the edge of spilling his guts although he would likely be killed by his own gang if he did.  
  
"Her name is Quint!" The Caucasian declared frightened.  
  
"Shut up McMahon!" The Mexican barked angrily, almost lunging from his seat at his companion when Buck cocked a gun in his direction and forced into his seat.  
  
"I didn't sign on to be killed, Rodriguez!" McMahon retorted in his defense. "Look her name is Quint and she's the one who hired Diaz!"  
  
"Diaz?" Chris knew the name. "The same Diaz that used to fight with Santa Ana? That Diaz?"  
  
"SHUT UP!" Rodriguez swore furiously at McMahon and more or less answered that question for Chris.  
  
"You heard of him, Chris?" Nathan asked.  
  
"Yeah, only by reputation from my army days." The gunslinger replied. "Used to be one of the better commanders during the Mexican War. Long way for a war hero to fall."  
  
"That's none of your business!" Rodriguez snapped, prepared to kill McMahon for revealing Diaz's name in all this.  
  
"Settle down," Chris said coolly, finding only passing interest in the identity of the man he had seen by Quint's side but little more. In the scheme of things, it did not change anything that he knew whose little army Selena Quint had hired because Four Corners would still have to fight them all. "We're letting you go back to your precious Diaz," Chris continued, "only because I want you to tell that rabid bitch that we are far from done. This blockade can only last so long before people start asking questions. Now we got enough food and water to wait for you people out so if Quint thinks she's going to scare us with these raids, she is in for one hell of a shock. Tell her if she wants to play with boys, then she had better learn to stop handling her guns like a little girl because this here is men's work."  
  
There was a low whistle as Chris made the statement. He guessed it might have come from Buck and had to admit it was a pretty incendiary statement.  
  
"If I were the lady," Ezra said with a smug smile. "I would take great exception to that remark."  
  
"Good," Chris replied with no humor in his voice. "Let's see if that don't tip her hand a little."  
  
"I just hope we don't tip it too far." Nathan retorted. "We're liable to regret it."  
  
"No," Chris shook his head full of confidence. "No, she will."  


 


	7. Event Horizon

He was insane.  
  
When he returned to Four Corners and told them what he learned, if anything at all, he would not be surprised if Buck Wilmington did not shoot him dead for his foolishness. At this point, J.D. Dunne was so scared, he did not even want to contemplate what Chris would do when he learned what J.D. was doing now. The young sheriff took a deep breath and cast his gaze at the illumination of camp fires in the not too far distance and knew if he was going to do this thing, it was best to get on with it instead of procrastinating any further. In either case, he had nothing to lose. If he screwed this up and they found him out, they would kill him and if he did survive by some miracle, Chris and Buck would harangue him when he got back to Four Corners.  
  
With the thick poncho Chris sometimes wore in favour over his black duster, the garment was oversized on J.D. and seemed to hang off him. He exchanged his hat (the one that looked just like the one worn by Bat Masterson) for a sombrero that covered most of his face. He carried guns because he was meant to be a mercenary and no decent one would be seen without his weapons, J.D. guessed. Slowly, he moved through the darkness of the canyon Buck had told him was the temporary headquarters of the group of villains holding Four Corners under siege.  
  
Possessing more stealth in this one hour than he ever displayed in his life, J.D. saw the men scattered about the place, enjoying the calm of the night. A few were seated around the campfire, others were asleep on their bed rolls, while some shared a bottle around a circle and shared stories. J.D. observed the tales were told were spoken in either Spanish or English and no one seemed to complain at the shifting languages. The messenger Chris sent back was most likely in the camp now and J.D. made a note to stay away from him if he sighted the man. Although he appeared nothing like what he did when they encountered each other in Four Corners, J.D. was taking no risks.  
  
J.D. breached the perimeter of the encampment and pretended to adjust his belt as if returning from taking a private moment to himself. His arrival engendered nothing more than a raised brow from the men stationed at the perimeter, seeing nothing unusual in his actions since others had been doing the same during the night. Tipping his hat in their direction, they nodded in similar acknowledgment as he passed by and entered the camp. J.D. felt his heart pounding furiously and was surprised they did not hear it beating through his skin. He walked into the encampment, completely aware if he made one mistake, he would not survive long enough to regret it.  
  
Fortunately, he had a plan. Okay, something of a plan. He was going to find himself a nice shadowy corner to sit where he would go unnoticed while he observed everything that transpired. It was a few hours before dawn and he intended to be well away from here before the sun came up. The darkness allowed him some measure of anonymity but if the cold light of day fell upon him while he was still here, he might as well put a bullet to his head now because there would be no shortage of volunteers if they learnt who he was.  
  
The mood in the camp was filthy dark and from the snippets of conversation to which he was privy, J.D. was led to believe this state of affairs was due to Four Corners managing to fend off the midnight raid in the town. With the exception of the mercenary Chris had allowed to leave with his message for the Quint woman, they lost the entire group sent out to spread terror on this particular raid. His companion who had been so willing to answer Chris's question had been permitted to remain in town, since his fellow mercenaries would undoubtedly kill him once they learnt he turned snitch.  
  
J.D. found himself the cover of a small tree, its trunk twisted by the inhospitable conditions of the canyon not to mention the lack of water, and sat down quietly, listening closely to the conversations spoken. He remained unnoticed mostly because alcohol had made most of them sluggish and because they assumed he was one of the new faces hired to boost their numbers for this particular enterprise. He remained hidden, letting his eyes search the grounds for anything that might help his friends in Four Corners and wondered if Quint was sleeping in one of those tents.  
  
J.D. wondered about how a woman could be so coldly ruthless because one thing had become very evident to him throughout his secret surveillance. Whatever strategy was being planned at the moment, it was Selena Quint who was directing _all_ of it. Everything that had taken place since the siege began was carried out as per her direct orders. Judging by the way the men spoke of her, with the hint of fear tightening their voices, it appeared she did not take failure well. It was common place for men to have such streaks of calculation but J.D. could not wrap his mind around the concept a woman might be the same way.  
  
When he had seen Julia threaten Violet Serfonteine a few months ago to learn of Ezra and Alex's location when they had been captured by the Klan, J.D. thought nothing about the fairer sex could surprise him. He knew Casey could ride and shoot as well as him and Maddie Stokes proved how dangerous women could be, even though it as obvious she wasn't in her right mind. However, Quint was different.  Even when she was taking a swipe at Ezra, she looked like a lady but there was something about her that was hard and frightening. It was no wonder Julia Pemberton shot her.  
  
Suddenly, the lady herself made her appearance from inside the main tent. She was still dressed in men's clothes although she had divested herself of her jacket and wore a plain white shirt and pants. Next to him was a rather weighty looking Mexican whose clothing indicated he might be this Diaz person the messenger was so determined to protect earlier.   
  
"Bastard!" Selena swore loudly. Around her, people flinched at the sound of her voice as she strode towards the fire.  
  
J.D. shrunk deeper into the dark, glad he was a suitable distance away from her but close enough to hear clearly what she was saying.  
  
"He is merely trying to bait you." Diaz retorted with a slight smile and gestured to one of the men around the fire to hand him the bottle from which they were drinking. "And it appears to be working."  
  
"That bullet should have killed him!" She continued her tirade, pacing the space in front of the fire. The glow of amber reflecting the rage in her icy coloured eyes. "Handle myself like a little girl! How dare he?"   
  
"You were right in deciding he had to be eliminated first." Diaz commented taking a swig of the bottle and letting out a refresh sigh after swallowing a mouthful of its contents. "This Larabee is quite the tactician."  
  
"Yes," Selena nodded begrudgingly. "He is that."  
  
"He recovers from a near fatal wound and still manages to mount a formidable defense for my men." He declared, unhappy he had lost a number of his more seasoned guns to this small town. These were men who had rode with him for as long as he could remember and there was something undignified about being gunned down by a bunch of American peasants. "Not to mention, he delivers a most scathing message for you, in order to provoke you into doing something foolish."  
  
"I do not do _anything_ foolish," she returned sharply. "He wants to push the point, he wants us to attack because he has a reception waiting for us."  
  
"How much of a defense can they possibly mount against all of us?" Diaz inquired, his gaze sweeping across the canyon at the men who were present before returning his gaze back to us.  
  
"Enough for us to suffer serious losses even when we take the town." She answered and paced. "We should attack at dawn." She declared.  
  
"No." He said firmly, anticipating this the moment she had latched on this crazy line of reasoning. "They have repelled an attack on a group of my best men that tells me they are capable of waging a much larger defense than you have anticipated. We go as plan Selena. We will wait and we will wear them down. Do not let words provoke you into doing anything stupid." He warned.

Ever since this job had begun, Diaz  noticed there was something very personal in Selena's actions. Although he had protested  shooting Larabee in the back, particularly with a hollow point bullet, he was force to concede the point it was tactically sound. Larabee was the leader and Diaz had fought enough battles to know how demoralizing it could be to lose the man in charge.  
  
However as this campaign progressed, it became increasingly obvious to Diaz she had an agenda that had nothing to do with just the exorbitant fee she was being paid and that concerned Diaz a great deal. He was not in this for personal vengeance and he expected to be well compensated when it was all said and done. Despite his lengthy association with Selena, Diaz would not hesitant to take control of things if he believed for one moment she was not acting in the best interest of his men.

"With Tanner still at large, we may not have a lot of time." Selena countered, understanding what he was trying to say and admitted some personal hatred was clouding her judgement on this occasion. "Your men have yet to catch up with him."  
  
"Agreed," Diaz had to admit that as well. "However, we will maintain the blockade and do nothing tomorrow. The day after that, then we will attack. If Tanner has slipped past the net then it will still take him time to get back inside it with reinforcements. In either case, he will come back to nothing but ashes and we will be long gone."  
  
It was a good plan to begin with and it was still a good plan now. Selena was glad that Diaz reminded her of it instead of letting her hatred get the better of it. "Alright, then it is decided then." She nodded. "The day after tomorrow, we raze Four Corner to the ground."  
  
J.D. slipped away almost as anonymously as he had entered the camp, all the while praying he made good his escape so he could bring the news back to the town. It would be tomorrow by the time he got back to Four Corners and whatever defense Chris had planned would have to be completed in a day. Selena would never know how right she was when Diaz had guessed Chris's intent which was to keep her from attacking. Chris had known they were not yet ready for a final assault and had been so vocal about tipping Selena's hand in front of the mercenary, completely aware the man would bring this intelligence back to Selena when they released him. The transparent effort to provoke her had succeeded in making Selena think twice about rushing in, although in this case it was  Diaz's untimely intervention that put Chris's plan back on track. JD made his way back to his horse, taking as much care as when he entered the encampment. Looking over his shoulder, he saw no signs of excitement in the camp and no stirrings they might have any idea a spy had been amongst them.  
  
He still could not believe he managed to infiltrate the camp and still keep himself in one piece. As he mounted his horse and started riding away quietly, J.D. decided there was no reason to hasten his pace and give himself away. Disappearing into the darkness, he rode towards home and made a silent wish Chris and Buck would not kill him when he got there.  
  
At least until _after_ he told them what he learned.

* * *

  
"Were you out your fucking mind?" Buck swore so loudly even Chris Larabee jumped slightly on the examination table where Alex had him in her power. The gunslinger could not help but fee a little sorry for J.D. in the face of Buck's wrath following the revelation of where the boy had been when he finally returned from his midnight adventure. J.D. had ridden into town a short time ago and confronted himself, Buck and Ezra in the clinic where Alex insisted on examining Chris's wounds and changing his bandages.  
  
"Mr Wilmington." Ezra broke in gently, flinching at the use of his strong language and feeling the need to make a subtle reminder as to who was in the room with them. "Would you kindly remember there are ladies present." He offer Alex a chivalrous smirk knowing she would hate it and sniggered slightly when he saw her rolling her eyes before returning her attention to unwrapping Chris's soiled bandages.  
  
"It seemed like a good idea at the time." J.D. exclaimed with a slight whine to his voice that made him sound every like a child caught doing something he should not have been. At the time, his actions had been tempered with the high minded ideal he was doing it for the greater good. However, as he attempted to explain himself to his friends, he succeeded only in highlighted to himself most of all, how much trouble he could have landed himself had anything gone wrong. "I just figured that if one of us went in quiet like, we might get some idea as to when they were going to come after us."  
  
"A _good_ idea?" Buck almost bellowed in return. Buck was beyond mortified J.D. had gone there by himself and most of all, right under his nose. What kind of protector was he that he could not even keep an eye on a boy J.D.'s age? Let alone be a father to a child? "You could have gotten yourself killed! What happened if they figured out who you were? They would have sent you back to us in little pieces!"  
  
"Let's just take it easy," Chris spoke, feeling the need to take control before this got into a shouting match because Buck was suitably riled over J.D.'s behaviour. He grimaced slightly as he tried to calm things down, wincing when Alex replaced the bandages around his chest with a fresh and crisp roll. He was in total agreement with Buck and if he were not in so much pain (although he would only make that admission under the threat of death while Alex was anywhere in the vicinity), he would have throttled the kid himself. What J.D. had done was almost akin to suicide which was probably why his infiltration worked.  
  
Neither side would have believed anyone to be stupid enough to try something like this.

Still, J.D. had a tendency to go where angels feared to thread in his attempts to prove himself as an able member of the group, not just as the young greenhorn they had all taken under their wing.  
  
"J.D., we will talk about this _later_." He gave the young man a stern look that indicated by no means was this subject concluded, it was merely on hold for the time being because they had bigger problems to deal with. Turning back to Buck, he tried to appease his old friend in much the same way "Buck, its done now and we might as well take advantage of what J.D. found out."  
  
"That's something I suppose." Buck threw J.D. a dark look. Buck felt personally responsible for J.D. and felt a certain paternal affection for the young man. Ever since J.D. had inflicted his company upon them during the seven's initial meeting, J.D. had become an important member of their family. In some ways, J.D.'s youthful enthusiasm reminded them all of what it was like to see the world with eyes that were new and untainted by life and experience. Over the last two years, Buck had tried to protect J.D. while at the same time instructing him on ways to survive in the west. J.D. had come straight from the east and knew almost nothing about life in the Territory beyond what he read in books. To know that J.D. had walked into danger, without so much as the benefit of the others covering his back infuriated Buck and made the man feel as if he had been remiss in his obligations to the boy.  
  
"So it appears we have a day to get ready for their final assault upon us." Ezra declared, agreeing with Chris to move past this issue until later. In truth, Ezra was in possession of feelings not too dissimilar from Buck's regarding J.D.'s conduct, however he knew how to be restrained and less vehement in his expression of it. Besides, they had bigger problems to do it and no doubt, Chris would provide the adequate rap on the knuckles J.D. was earnestly deserved when this was all over.  
  
"It doesn't particularly surprise me." Chris drawled, feeling no apprehension at what J.D. had revealed, merely resignation of what he was certain would take place eventually. "I knew they would be coming sooner or later. Even if they are trying to play it safe, they still can't afford to wait too long. They know that eventually someone other than the passing traveller is going to start asking questions on why they can't reach Four Corners and with Vin out there, trying to break through, they have to move. At least now the waiting game is over. One way or another this will end the day after tomorrow."  
  
"Your optimism is really instilling me with confidence." Alex commended, silent all this while as the men discussed their situation. She was more focused on deal with Chris's wound and still disliked the idea he was up and about when he should be in bed resting. However, despite her concern for his medical health, Alex took comfort in the fact Chris was taking charge of things.  
  
The man did inspire confidence even though he was a grim bastard.  
  
Although she added nothing to their conversation, she wished they had some word on whether or not Vin had made it to Sweetwater. She was trying hard not to worry about him but Alex could not help it. He had been gone for more than a day now and Sweetwater was no more than a day's ride from Four Corners. If he penetrated the blockade he should be well and truly on his way back to town if not having arrived already. Alex knew her fiance well enough to say he would not stop until he brought them the help they so desperately needed. Still, he was not in the hands of the enemy which was something to take comfort in she supposed, since according to J.D., the mercenaries were still searching. However, it merely begged the question of where he actually was. Instead of allowing herself to descend into growing fear for his absence, Alex threw herself in her work, trying not to let her concerns get the better of her.  
  
"Have you cleared out the schoolhouse yet?" Chris asked her, aware her comment earlier was a thinly veiled attempt to hide her worries about Vin. Considering how she felt about the tracker, Chris could not blame her. He too, wanted to know where Vin was.  
  
"More or less." Alex answered quietly as she finished securing the bandages around him and drew away to the far corner of the room. "There's a few more patients that need to be moved but it should be taken care of by noon. Rain and Julia have taken charge of that. The emporium has a decent storage space beneath the main floor that can hold them."  
  
"Good," Chris nodded, taking stock of everything that needed to be done since their timetable had suddenly been curtailed thanks to J.D.'s new information. "Have we planted the dynamite yet?" He asked Buck how in charge of the town's munitions after he and J.D. had collected a small stockpile from all the hardware stores in town.  
  
"Most of it." Buck answered automatically, having spent most of yesterday prior to the evening attack, burying dynamite in the defensive perimeter they established around town. At the moment, Four Corners was almost surrounded in a circle of high explosives that would be their first line of defense when the invaders made their move. "I haven't set the charges yet but once J.D. gets some rest, we'll get on it." He threw a faint smile at the young man, showing J.D. that his anger had dissipated somewhat even though Buck still think he needed the crap beaten out of him for his foolhardy behaviour.  
  
"Okay," Chris took a deep breath and felt some measure of satisfaction, knowing things were running somewhat according to schedule. He rose to his feet shakily and immediately noticed Alex frowning at him for exerting his strength even though they both knew that there was nothing to be done about it. He was needed to coordinate things, no matter how wounded he was. Since his return, the town's spirit had brightened considerably and Chris felt somewhat embarrassed his recovery could inspire so many people this way. He had always considered himself the bad element in town, not the saviour who could deliver them from any calamity.  
  
"Chris, are you sure you shouldn't be resting?" Buck asked concerned, seeing the amount of effort Chris needed just to stand up. While he was glad to have Chris up and around, it could not be denied that he was far from healthy.  
  
"Don't get me started," Alex muttered as she dried her hands with a towel.  
  
"I'll be fine." Chris gave him a smouldering look of annoyance, wishing Buck had not brought the subject up in front of the doctor. Alex was just waiting for an excuse to put him in bed and he knew she had enough sedatives at her disposal to do it if she got in her mind he was harming himself more than necessary. "When this is all over, I'm going to stay in bed for a week. You hens satisfied with that?" He grumbled, his intense blue-green eyes glaring at them in accusation.  
  
"I take umbrage at that," Ezra spoke up immediately, his voice dripping with usual charm even when he was supposedly offended. "I have not made any inquiry about your state of health nor do I consider myself anything like some feathered piece of poultry."   
  
"You're all heart." Chris retorted. "Now let's get started, we don't have a lot of time." Chris started moving out of the room slowly, with Buck keeping a close eye on him in case he needed the support.  
  
Suddenly they heard the front door to the clinic swing open and although they could not see who had entered, they recognized Josiah's voice filled with urgency. "Need some help here!"  
  
Chris could not move too quickly but Buck, J.D. and Ezra were already hurrying out of the small examination room before the words had fully escaped the preacher's lip. Alex left Chris alone in the room and followed the lawmen out, guessing that any reason that would bring Josiah here with such alarm would ultimately require her presence. After the last three days, she was convinced there was no other situation they could throw at her to shake her sensibilities. Emerging into the narrow hall way, Alex saw Buck easing Chanu, whom she had met when she occasionally visited the Indian village, out of the way as he took up the young man's position helping Josiah with Kojay whom Alex knew to be his father. Like the Chief, Chanu was also injured and was holding his arm in pain.  
  
"Bring him in here!" Alex directed them to the examination room and almost backed into Chris who appeared behind her to investigate the commotion taking place. The gunslinger stepped out of her way as she returned to the room once more while Buck and Josiah brought the old chief inside its confines. Chris withdrew to a discreet distance at the corner of the room as they nestling him down on the table. Upon doing that, Josiah and Buck joined him, not wanting to be in Alex's way any more than Chris did.  
  
"What happened?" Chris asked Chanu who had found himself a chair at Ezra's behest and sat down heavily on it, not too far from the lawmen.  
  
"Chanu came riding into town a moment ago," Josiah answered for the young man, allowing him to catch his breath after his ordeal in coming here from the village with his wounded father and himself in no better condition. As it was, Chanu's face was covered in a litany of ugly bruises as well as an arm that hung somewhat out of joint and indicated to Chris and Alex as well, a dislocated joint. It appeared as if someone had taken their fists to him in a big way and it required no clairvoyance for Chris to assume it was the same mercenaries terrorizing Four Corners.  
  
"They burned the village." Chanu was able to speak for himself after a moment. Wiping a smear of blood from his split lip, he flinched lightly at how much it stung before continuing. "They came looking for Tanner and when we said we did not know where he went, they set fire to our tents and shot my father."  
  
Not unexpectedly, it was Alex and Chris who reacted most to that information. Both gunslinger and doctor looked up at the same time although it was Chris who verbalized their demand for knowledge. "Vin was at the village, when?" Chris demanded not merely for himself but also for Alex who was burning to know.  
  
Although she had recovered from her momentary lapse of attention and turned back to her patient, Chris was certain she was listening closely and was relying upon him to ask the questions they needed to ascertain Vin's present whereabouts.  
  
"He sought refuge during the dust storm." Chanu answered before thanking Buck briefly for bringing him some water. "The men who brought trouble to your town had seen him leaving to find help and they followed Tanner until he came to the village. Tanner hoped he might lose them in the storm and rested for a short time." Chanu kept a close eye on what Alex was doing to his father while he maintained his narrative. Although the others in the village had not wished him to put his faith in white man's medicine to heal his father, Chanu trusted Nathan and Alex to know if it there were a way to help Kojay, they would find it. Besides, he had learnt a long time ago injuries caused by white man's weapons were usually best treated the same way.  
  
Chanu swallowed another mouthful of water and continued talking, understanding Vin Tanner's friends were eager for any news about him since it was obvious he had not come back here after fleeing from the village. "The men came to our village looking for Tanner. He did not wish to endanger us and tried to leave before they could search the village but they knew we were lying when we said we did not know where he was because they saw him."  
  
Well that explained what happened to Chanu and Kojay, Chris fumed silently. No doubt, the mercenaries felt it justifiable to satisfy their disappointment on letting Vin slip away yet again by taking vengeance on the innocents who sought to protect him. Chris regarded the news of Vin's escape with little surprise since J.D.'s surveillance of the enemy camp had disclosed that much already. Quint stated they had yet to catch up with Vin and were operating under the assumption he might have actually penetrated the blockade. Chris prayed that was the truth and Vin had made it to Sweetwater. With an attack now eminent, outside help could spare a great deal of bloodshed.  
  
"Then he got away," Buck exclaimed with a smile. "J.D. said they still hadn't found him so he might have made it to Sweetwater." Hope exuded from every word he uttered.  
  
"There is something more," Chanu hated bringing this news to their attention because he had seen how hopeful they were at the possibility Vin might have reached Sweetwater. However, they had right to know the full truth, no matter how displeasing it was to hear. Chris saw Chanu's gaze shifting reluctantly to Alex and knew whatever he was about to reveal was not news they were going to want to hear. Immediately, the gunslinger braced himself for unpleasant news.

"When one of those chasing Tanner came back to join the men at the village, I heard them talking. He said that Tanner was shot."  
  
Alex did not react but her insides knotted upon hearing that report. With a will she did not know she possessed, she continued to work on Kojay's injuries, forcing herself to keep her composure and not start to panic.  
  
"He said Mr. Tanner was shot but not killed, am I correct?." Ezra said quickly, knowing this had to be clarified for Alex's benefit. Next, to Chris, only Ezra knew how to read Alex's moods and right now, he could tell she was fighting to stay focused.  
  
The others instinctively glanced at the doctor, trying to gauge how she was handling this disturbing news. She did not show any reaction following Chanu's statement although even J.D. could see she was upset. Her hands were trembling slightly as she tended to Kojay's ruined flesh as if the help Kojay needed from her was all that was keeping her from maintaining her calm.  
  
"No not killed," Chanu replied just as quickly, realizing Ezra's intent immediately. Vin Tanner's woman needed to have hope he was alive and in truth, Chanu had no knowledge of what state Tanner was in. He had merely heard the tracker had been shot, nothing further. "I am sure Tanner is alive and well. If he has not returned yet then he is getting help."  
  
Unfortunately, he did not sound entirely convincing.  
  
"Gentlemen," Alex spoke after a moment, appreciating their efforts to lessen the blow Vin might have come to harm but she could not bear their attempts at comfort. When she looked up at them, she revealed to them the face that put them at ease, the perfectly composed doctor who had her emotions well in hand. Whether or not they believed it was another thing entirely, Alex wanted to be left alone to deal with her patients because it was the only way she could get through this. "I need to be able to work on my patients alone. Could you please move outside to the waiting room?"  
  
"My father?" Chanu asked standing up, unable to bear not knowing what state his father was in. He had been watching carefully as she treated Kojay and was at a loss to know whether his injuries were serious or not. "Is he going to live?"  
  
"Yes," Alex nodded glad that someone was going to get some good news at least. "He took a bullet to the side but I think it may have passed straight through without damaging any vital organs. There is blood loss of course but I'm sure he will recover. At his age, it's not uncommon for him to react badly to shock. Can someone find Nathan?" She asked, glancing at everyone except Chris and Kojay. Her voice was neutral but lacked the spark Chris had come to know. "It will take me some time to work on Kojay and Chanu really needs looking at now."  
  
"I am certain I can locate Mr. Jackson." Ezra offered, eager to take some of the burden from her mind following the unfortunate news she just received. The gambler promptly walked out of the room with J.D. and Buck in pursuit because despite the news about Vin, the mercenaries were still coming after them tomorrow and they had to be ready.  
  
"Alex," Chris said gently when she turned back to Kojay. "I'm sure Vin's okay." The gunslinger offered her a small smile because he did believe that Vin was alive and well. Even if he was shot, Vin proved one thing, time and time again, he was a survivor and Chris refused to believe anything else.  
  
"I really can't deal with that right now." She said evasively although seeing Chris's determined belief Vin was okay gave Alex some measure of comfort. "If I start thinking about what's happened to him and how he could be hurt, I'm not going to be of any use to anyone." Alex swallowed hard, trying to force away this lump in her throat that was threatening to collapse the wall of professional detachment she was maintaining with frantic desperation. She could feel her heart weakening with each second this uncomfortable question went unanswered. The only thing Alex could do at moments like this was to throw herself into the work or else she risk breaking down completely.  
  
"Alright," Chris nodded, understanding her sentiments all too well. Squeezing her arm gently, Chris offered a further word of support. "If you need us, we'll be at the saloon."  
  
"Thanks Chris," she grasped the hand on her arm and flashed him a warm smile. "Do me a favour, please take it easy yourself? I understand you have to be up and about but you can't over do it. I fixed you up the best I could but those are still very serious wounds under that bandage. Don't mistake the mistake of thinking you're alive because of me, you're standing up on stubbornness alone and not even you can keep up that up for long."  
  
"Mary would disagree." Chris joked but understood completely what she was trying to say. He placed a hand on her cheek. "I promise I won't over do it."  
  
"I'll see to it, Alex." Josiah lent his voice in support of Chris's statement, impressed even at a time like this she could still forget her own worries about Vin long enough to be concerned over Chris's welfare.  
  
The two lawmen left the clinic shortly after, leaving Alex to deal with Kojay and possibly Chanu as well if Nathan did not arrive soon. "She's mighty scared." Josiah remarked as they drew away from the clinic. Chris did not wish any help making it to the Standish Saloon which had become the unofficial war room of Four Corners since the siege had began.  
  
"She loves him." Chris shrugged. "And she has reason to be."  
  
"You think Vin is still alive?" Josiah asked, hating to think the tracker was no longer among them. When Silas Poplar had come to town, Vin was the only one who believed in Josiah's innocence firmly enough to try and help him. Josiah never forgot the tracker's attempts to save him from himself and was inordinately pleased when Vin finally found love in the arms of Alex Styles. For it to end like this for the young man was more than Josiah could stand. He was certain Chris, whom was his constant companion and best friend, felt the same way.  
  
"I think he'll surprise us," Chris replied unwillingly to say any more than that because his thoughts on whether Vin was alive was no one's business but his own.

* * *

They were persistent.  
  
Vin Tanner had to give his pursuers that much as he and Peso made the final leg of the journey in their quest to bring help to Four Corners and end the blockade keeping the town under siege. After keeping ahead of them following his abrupt departure from the Indian village, Vin headed in a completely different direction away from Sweetwater. He wondered how determined they were to apprehend him and decided if they were so hell-bent and keeping him from the town, he was making them pay for every inch of space it took to catch up with him.  
  
Taking the most inhospitable track the knew through the mountains, Vin knew Peso was accustomed to traversing the rough terrain unlike his pursuers whose mounts preferred the flat plains of Mexico where the ground was even and sandy. The mountainous track through which Vin led them in their relentless pursuit was composed mostly of rock and shale, requiring passage through dense growth on steep inclined slopes. In truth, this was hardly even a roundabout way to Sweetwater but Vin led them on this path to force them into abandoning their chase. Unfortunately, Vin had troubles of his own that negated a face to face confrontation until he found a suitable vantage point from which to launch a formidable attack. With his injured shoulder, Vin could hardly afford make an extended detour but he could not allow these men to stop him from reaching Sweetwater.  
  
He had no idea what was going on at Four Corners, whether or not Chris had survived the night. Alex had feared he might not or whether the town was even still there. He had been away for almost two days and the tracker was painfully aware of how much time that really was in the Territory. He had not slept for any more than hourly intervals because the mercenaries had dogged him relentlessly. It was out of sheer exhaustion and rising fury at their ravenous determination to stop him from reaching help that Vin finally decided to deal with them once and for all.  
  
When he had paused long enough to rest, Vin had to fight the dreams that kept him from a fitful sleep, perfectly aware that if he let the full weight of his slumber overtake him, he would only have nightmares of returning to Four Corners and finding nothing but ashes.  
  
Early this morning he had started travelling through the river that would take him straight into Sweet Water. If they were as persistent as he believed in stopping him, they would follow, believing that this was what he intended all along. Fortunately, Vin knew a few short cuts that required him crisscrossing the water and the land in order to get ahead of them so that he would be prepared when they reached the place he needed them to be. Although he disliked putting Peso through the torture of forcing the animal to move through the water, he knew that it was his only choice. His pursuers would follow the course of the river, believing he was doing the same, unaware that he was leading them into a trap.  
  
Despite the arduous journey that cut his travelling time through the river in half, Vin knew it was worth it when he finally put enough distance between himself and the mercenaries to reach the place he knew to be a perfect location for an ambush. Finding a rather opportune ridge for which to wait them out, Vin readied his rifle and kept a vigil for their inevitable appearance. These men that had tracked him across the land were no amateurs. He had to give them credit for their skills in keeping up with him because Vin was usually able to disappear without anyone finding him if he so chose. If it were not for the constraints of having to reach Sweet Water and summoning help for Four Corners; Vin could have remained out of sight without them ever finding him.  
  
Unfortunately, his predestined path had made that anonymity impossible. Vin looked at the wound under his buckskin coat and knew that it would require attention soon even though it was not a serious injury. He had suffered worse in his lifetime and knew how much time it took for a minor wound to become a serious one. Despite himself, he did not want to see a doctor in Sweet Water and told himself that Alex would not be impressed that he refused medical treatment simply because it was not her that was doing the healing. Thoughts of her kept him going even when he was so tired that sleep beckoned like a second mistress. When exhaustion threatened to overtake him, Vin occupied himself with thoughts of her scent in his lungs and how soft her hair felt in his hand fingers.  
  
Fragments of memories such at those reminded him what he was pushing himself so hard to achieve and renewed his strength somewhat. He could not allow himself to relent until he knew that she would be safe. Not until, he could say for certain that everyone he cared about in Four Corners, not just Alex, but also Chris, Mary, Nettie and all the men he rode with were out of danger.  
  
Normally, he would have taken care of these men and then continued to Sweet Water unimpeded but he counted at least six of them on his trail and knew those were odds he could not risk facing when so much depended on him. Vin might have been able to handle those numbers even without the aide of Chris and the others but he was not prepared to take the gamble when it was absolutely necessary for him to reach Sweet Water and summon help. He remained in his hidden position, awaiting to hear the sounds of voices that would inevitably tell him that the prey was moving into sight.  
  
The air was still cold and Vin found himself fighting the urge to drift off to sleep knowing that it could have fatal repercussions if he did. In order to maintain his anonymous position in the woods, he could not light a fire and the chill of the morning bit into his skin, even through the protection of his coat. He knew much of this had to do with his state of health, being both injured and exhausted. Vin forced himself to stay alert, listening for every sound no matter how inconsequential, waiting for the ones that would herald an end to his days as their prey.  
  
It was time to turn some tables and show them just who was the hunter and who was the prey.  
  
Vin took a deep breath of cold air and let it do the work of invigorating him, bringing to bear the senses that were trying to coax him into sleep. He had tethered Peso some distance away to further mask his presence, aware that the sound of his faithful gelding would only take away his advantage and he could not afford that at this point. Staring down from the edge of the slope he was taking refuge behind, Vin observed the meandering path along the river. The strong current had been difficult to cross but somehow Peso had managed it and Vin made a mental note to give the animal a good few days to rest once this was all over. Peso had performed for him splendidly even though other horses would have just dug their heels in and refused to move after being pushed so hard.  
  
The trees in this area were mostly tall and thin, allowing little shelter from the rain although their canopy of leaves did cast a dull shadow over the area.  
  
Suddenly, Vin heard voices. He strained to identify them because he and the mercenaries were not the only people who used this track. It took a few minutes before the sound s of human chatter became something he could distinguish as friend or foe. As they made their steady approach, he heard those voices sharpen with clarity until finally, he knew for certain, that the new arrivals had decidedly Spanish accents.  
  
They were coming at last.  
  
Vin positioned his rifle on a rock, using it as leverage to make a more accurate aim. Leaning forward, he let all other thoughts drained from him as his mind tightened into one singular line of concentration as he waited with almost serene calm for the first of the riders to appear. He had only one shot at this and he did not intend to waste it. While the proper thing to do would be to offer these men a warning as to what was about to come down upon them, Vin had no choice but to discard such chivalry. These men were hired to do a job that required the murder of innocent women and children. As far as he was concerned, they had forfeited that right the moment the first one of them had chosen to rape Elizabeth Bartell.  
  
They were all Mexicans, he noticed. All wearing an assortment of ponchos or worn Spanish suits that favoured by the rich, now dusty and torn from their hard living. Their conversation was incidental, involving how they would spend the money when it was done or observations as to where their quarry might be at this point. Closer than they thought, Vin decided with a slight curl of his lips as they moved into final position.  
  
They were all directly in front of him when Vin pulled the trigger, knocking the man in the middle off his horse as the bullet took out half his throat. He had barely toppled off his horse when Vin cocked his gun again and aimed at another man. The horses under the riders had started to panic, rearing on their hind quarters almost dismounting their masters. Vin did not give them time to launch any kind of defense, pulling trigger no more than a second after he had shot the first man. He too fell as easily as the first and the four with him started to shout at which direction the gunfire was coming from. Vin did not allow himself to be swayed by the pandemonium caused in the wake of their panic, focusing only on the bodies that were still on horseback.  
  
One or two had tried to move out of the line of fire but the barrel of Vin's shot gun followed them with unwavering precision and before they could move into the trees, fired twice. Both tumbled onto the wet ground, their shirts revealing an expanding web of crimson as they landed on the damp soil and leaves unmoving. The remaining two had recovered long enough to pull out their own weapons and began firing in his direction. Vin had picked his hiding place well and although the bullets impacted near him, could not penetrate the steep incline of the hill.  
  
He paused long enough to reload the bullet he had laid carefully next to his gun for the purpose, knowing that he would only have a few seconds to do so. However, the sudden lapse in gun fire emboldened the men below and he suddenly saw them riding hard towards the hill, intending to scale it in order to reach him. Vin noted their eminent arrival and remained calm, knowing that his ability to handle this new development relied upon how fast he could reload his gun. He saw their horses struggle to climb the steep and uneven surface but were aware how resilient animals could be and did not intend to be caught surprised.  
  
By the time Vin had loaded his gun and was ready to fire, the leader of the two was almost to the top of the slope and Vin was near enough in his sights for him to be certain of being able to hit the tracker when he fired. Vin saw a gun being aimed in his direction and reacted swiftly, moving faster than the mercenary could have possibly anticipated. He pulled the trigger before the man had a chance to target him in his sights and the resounding explosion from the barrel of the shot gun slammed into the man with extreme force. The close range of the shot had torn the man off the back of his horse and Vin ducked as the animal sailed over him and continued running from fright. Its rider rolled down the hill unceremoniously, uprooting leaves and dirt in its his descend.  
  
Vin rolled onto his knees as the last man followed not far behind, dispensing with any need for safety as he took another careful aim. The man fired twice before Vin could fire. One bullet impacted in the soft dirt of the hill because he had yet to scale the hill and level out his shot. The other created sparks as it hit the rock behind which Vin had hit and ricochet elsewhere. The tracker fired once but that all that was required.  
  
Vin did not see the bullet kill the final mercenary but he certainly saw the appearance of a red fissure in the man's forehead. Blood so thick it was almost black, ran down the man's face, staining his face in red. His horse, knowing the scent of death shook the dead man off its back and continued on its way, putting as much distance between the corpse and itself. Vin lowered his gun and emerged from behind his vantage point now that he had succeeded in finally ridding himself of the mercenaries who had been constant companions for the past two days.  
  
The tracker examined each body to ensure that they were dead and found that he had delivered his shots with extreme accuracy as he had intended. Vin could not help feel a pang of remorse knowing that he had been responsible for the death around him but they had given him little choice. Someone had to break through the blockade and he was determined that it would be him because there were too many people he cared about waiting for his help in Four Corners. Unfortunately, Vin was forced to leave the bodies where they were, since he could not afford to spend the time burying them. He placed them all together and made an unspoken promise to return later because every man deserved a proper burial no matter who they might have been in life.  
  
Vin wasted no time in reaching Peso once he was done with the mercenaries. The horse waited patiently where Vin had left it, taking a sojourn during the period when his master dealt with their hunters to acquire some well earned rest. By the time Vin was finally ready to make his final run towards Sweet Water, Peso was more or less fresh and Vin knew he could make the town by early afternoon if he rode hard enough. Inwardly, Vin breathed a sigh of relief at finally being able to break through the blockade. The pain in his shoulder hardly registered in the face of that realization and hoped the delay these past two days had not cost Four Corners too much.  
  
At the moment, only one thing occupied his mind as he and Peso galloped down the path the mercenaries had used to track him. Once he had told the powers that be what was transpiring at Four Corners, Vin had every intention of returning to town immediately. He did not know how long it would take to mobilize the assistance needed to fend off the mercenaries laying siege to Four Corners and frankly Vin gave little thought to it beyond knowing they would come. The only thing he did know for certain was that he intended to be standing along side his friends and the woman he loved by the time the sun set over the horizon on this day.

* * *

  
Frankly, Mary Larabee was amazed at how well the town had pulled together. In the years that she had lived in Four Corners, she had only ever seen such solidarity in the actions of those who lived here on one other occasion. Ironically, it had been the time when Guy Royal and Stuart James had hired men to burn down the town after chasing everyone away. At the time, the seven had been disbanded in favour of the new Marshal that had been assigned to Four Corners, which was all the incentive needed by the cattlemen to launch the attack upon the town. Although they had yet to prove whether or not it was Royal or James who was responsible for what was happening to Four Corners now, Mary and the seven was convinced of nothing else. Unfortunately, this information did very little to assist their present situation and Mary knew that their troubles with the two cattlemen were far from over.  
  
However, it helped having a common enemy and people were so incensed by the calamity that they had been enduring the past few days that it Royal and James name become the impetus upon which they were inspired to band together and survive the coming onslaught. With Chris on his feet and directing much of the preparations, Four Corners launched themselves into the fortification of their town as if they were preparing for a war. In some essence they were and every able bodied man was soon rallying to its defense with a pitchfork in one hand and double barrel in the other.  
  
It was the sense of community that Mary had always wished to see in Four Corners and had been sorely lacking until the coming of the seven. Until then, everyone had struggled to stay alive. There had been little sense of solidarity because life had been so uncertain in those days to justify standing up for another when it was likely that it could cost one their lives for doing so. The coming of the seven had shown them all that it was not a fool's errand to fight for a worthy cause because it did not always end tragically.  
  
By the end of the day, the town was as prepared as it was ever going to be to repel the attack from the mercenaries that would be coming at dawn. Women and children had been allocated places of hiding as well as any person that could not defend themselves. Mary had left Billy with Audrey King, determined that she would not be one of those hiding. She knew how to handle a gun and defied anyone to tell her that she would be a liability by lending her assistance. As the sun set down against the amber sky there was still no word on whether or not Vin had managed to reach help in Sweet Water and she knew that Chris was unwilling to rely on aid that may never reached them.  
  
"Well, that's it." Buck sighed as the tall man sat down heavily on the kitchen chair inside the Larabee kitchen. "We're as ready as we're ever going to be." He declared, meeting the faces of his friends, hoping that he was not wrong.  
  
"I still wish I knew whether or not Vin made it," Josiah frowned, unhappy about that one mystery despite the progress they had made in town today. Not knowing whether or not the tracker was alive or dead had weighed heavily on all their minds.  
  
"Well let's not count him out just yet," Chris said firmly, disliking that subject intensely. In his mind, Vin was struggling to break the blockade if he had not already and that was how he was going to keep viewing the subject of Vin Tanner until they had concrete evidence that he was not dead. He was glad that Alex was still hovering over her patients and not present to hear this conversation. The woman was extremely resilient but not even Chris could guarantee how she would take the news if it they did learn the worse. At this point, he needed her where she was, coordinating the sick instead letting worries about Vin's welfare interfere with her work.  
  
"Yeah, Vin will turn up." J.D. said hopefully. "He always does."  
  
"Well the charges are set." Buck announced. "At the first sign of those mercenaries, they're going to get a surprise they ain't likely to forget." He grinned slightly, infecting those around him with his jovial mood even if the situation seemed completely inappropriate for it. "I have been refining my skills as a powder man."  
  
"If I seem to recall," Ezra retorted as Mary handed him a cup of coffee, one of many she was serving throughout the room. "Your only excursion as an explosive expert was with one stick of dynamite at the Royal place, which I might add failed to detonate."  
  
"That's right," Nathan chuckled. "If Josiah hadn't ridden in there drunk as a coot, we might have never got our distraction."  
  
"Must we speak of that?" The preacher grumbled, recalling the incident with embarrassment.  
  
"Its me," J.D. stood up from his chair ceremoniously and beckoned some unseen paramour. "Its Josiah!"  
  
Josiah threw the young man a dark looked and seethed in annoyance. "Very funny."  
  
"Leave Josiah alone," Mary said reproachfully and flashed the preacher one of her more comforting smiles. "Although I would like to hear that story."  
  
"I shall take great pleasure in offering a narrative Mrs. Larabee." Ezra said magnanimously, his sea coloured eyes twinkling as he looked at Josiah with an expression of little boy mischief.  
  
Chris laughed slightly and allowed them this moment of levity since they had been working hard all day and they needed to relax somewhat or else none of them would be in any shape to face the battle that was coming at them with the ferocity of a runaway locomotive. The kitchen wafted with the smell of hot coffee and Chris reached for the cup that Mary had left for him. "Look, we've done all we can." Chris said finally deciding that after all the effort they had put in today, it was time for a rest. There was nothing more to be done until tomorrow and they all needed to alert to deal with the trials that would come with the new days. "Best thing we can do now is get some sleep. We've got a big day tomorrow."  
  
"Let us hope we are not resting for our own funeral." Ezra dead panned as he drained his cup and rose out of his chair.  
  
"Way to be optimistic, Ez," Buck retorted sarcastically, having plans of his own for the evening. If he was going to die tomorrow, there were things he needed to take care of first. "And I thought Josiah was the one who looked at the gloomy side of things."  
  
"Why thank you Buck." Josiah declared. "Always appreciate your endorsements."  
  
Chris watched them leave through the window of the kitchen until their voices faded into the night as they dispersed, wondering if this was the last moment they would ever share a quiet cup of coffee together. In truth, Chris was less optimistic than Ezra was about their chances. While they were going to hurt the enemy tomorrow, Chris was uncertain of whether or not they could really win. If by some miracle, they did prevail, the gunslinger had a terrible feeling it was going to be at a great cost to the town.  
  
"Mary," Chris said quietly, knowing she would protest but determined that she hear him out. She was making them something to eat in her kitchen, doing all those things that women did even when times were at their very worst. It never ceased to amaze him, how the fairer sex could always keep the more important things in life forever in focus, no matter how much chaos was screaming its wrath around them.  
  
"Yes, Chris?" She answered, not looking up as she stirred something that smelled  
heavenly in a pot on the stove.  
  
"Maybe you should think about you and Billy getting out of here."  
  
Mary stopped what she was doing immediately and turned around to face him. "You mean run?" Her eyes showed her shock at his suggestion, even though she could see the honest fear in his face.  
  
"I mean get out alive." Chris repeated. More than anything, he wanted his new family safe. He could endure losing them in death but he could not live knowing that he had lost another family. It would destroy what soul he had left in him. "I mean to take as many women in town and run."  
  
"How can you ask this of me?" She demanded. "Do you think I can just walk away and leave you behind?"  
  
"Would you do it if I asked you?" Chris asked, not wishing to use that as a ploy to have her concede to his demands but interested in knowing her answer if he had.  
  
She said nothing for a moment, uncertain of how to answer. "I don't know." She said after a long while, trying to hide the tears that wanted to spill down her cheeks. "I just know I can't abandon you here and hope that things work out. I have earned the right to stand by your side no matter what, through sickness and in health, remember?"  
  
He did remember and he did not want her to go but Chris had started to wonder if it was selfish of him to expect her to stay. Chris did not want her harmed and he was not a gambler who dared risking her life on the possibility that they might defeat their enemies. "I just don't want you hurt."  
  
She understand all too well the sentiment that motivated him and came towards him, placing a hand against his cheek as Mary looked down at him. "I know that Chris but I also know that I won't be any better of running and hiding and I also know a lot of the other wives, mothers and daughters feel the same way. We know the risks but we can't run."  
  
Chris nodded in understanding and would bring the subject up no more. "You're a lot braver than I am Mrs. Larabee," he said with a warm smile and pulled her down to kiss her. As their lips met in a soft kiss, Chris hoped that she was right, that it was worth the risk because he honestly did not know if there was any price that he'd willing to gamble when it was her life at stake.

* * *

  
Buck Wilmington knew exactly where he was going when he left the Larabee's and that was straight for the saloon. The uncertainty of tomorrow had reminded him of how many unresolved things he would leave behind if tomorrow were indeed his last day on this earth. He had no fear of dying even though he would not go willingly into the good night. However, Buck did not believe in keeping everything buried inside himself as Chris did. He believed in taking care of things once and for all, to put it behind him so he could continue with the future or tie it up neatly, in case the end of the road came sooner than he believed. Unfortunately, his present predicament did not allow for such a direct solution but then things with Inez Rosillios never progressed as smoothly as they ought.  
  
He found her in the saloon dispensing drinks to paying customers with the same confidence and brassy mannerisms that had captured his heart from the first. To look at her, one could not guess that a gang of marauding mercenaries could soon bring death to them all when the sun rose the next morning. Inez continued with her daily routine, providing those present with the comforting notion that some things would go on no matter what calamity was expected.  
  
They had not spoken much since Christmas, when she had told him about the baby and the more she kept him away; the more determined Buck was to be apart of her life. His own father had been a non-entity in his childhood and Buck did not wish to be the same way for a child of his own. He wanted to miss nothing in this process of life growing inside her and although she might otherwise like to deny it, this baby was their creation not just hers. He wanted to share in it and experience some of the things she did because he did not want to be a figment of his child's dreams of what a father was supposed to be.  
  
"Hey, Inez." Buck said sliding into the stool across the counter from her.  
  
"Hello, Buck." She responded politely, albeit with some distance in her manner. "What can I get you?"  
  
"A moment of your time?" He raised his eyes to meet her gaze with an expression that was filled with yearning and silent pleading.  
  
She let out a sigh, never being able to resist that puppy dog look even though she would prefer to die before admitting this to him. Inez was not blind to what was taking place around her, in particular, the attack that was coming their way tomorrow. While she had tried to maintain a brave face, she was nevertheless afraid of what would happen, not only to herself and her baby but to its father. As much as she wanted to keep Buck at arm's length, she still loved him and while things may seem unworkable between them now, should anything happen to him tomorrow, Inez did not want his last memory of her to be unpleasant.  
  
"Why not?" She flashed him a smile and started towards the kitchen where they would be afforded some measure of privacy.  
  
It took a moment for Buck to realize that she had not flat out refused him as she had been doing on so many previous occasions before when he had requested a private audience. Instead, Inez stood at the doorway to the kitchen, waiting in anticipation for him to follow. The lawman wasted no time leaping off his stool and hurrying into the room after her. Inez was sitting on top of the kitchen table when he finally entered.  
  
"So what is so important?" She asked with no sign of hostility in her voice.  
  
"I just wanted to talk to you that's all." He said with a faint smile, removing his hat as he approached her. "Lots of things are happening tomorrow and I thought a few words needed to be said just in case." He swallowed thickly, obviously having a great deal of difficult voicing what those things were even if Inez suspected it somewhat.  
  
"I'm listening." She answered, feeling her heart constrict with realization.  
  
"You will tell the baby about me won't you?" He asked suddenly and sliced her insides apart with emotion with that one simple question. "I mean if anything does happen."  
  
"Of course I will." She exclaimed, sliding off the table and walking up to him. Taking his hand in hers she looked into his face with nothing less than love she had always felt for him and replied. "The baby will always know its father, even if you are dead or alive. Buck," Inez paused realizing  he believed she had no intention of letting him be a part of her baby's life and that was never her intention. "Things are crazy between us right now but this baby is yours as much as it is mine."  
  
"Really?" He said trying not to show how happy he was at that statement. "I thought when you said you wouldn't marry me..."  
  
"Did not mean I would keep our child away from you," she declared, mortified that he could even think such a thing and then felt slightly guilty because she had given him every reason to believe that.  
  
"I really want to be a part of its life Inez," Buck replied after a moment, speaking from the heart because she was the only one who believed there was more to him beneath the veneer of his charm and tom catting ways. "I grew up never knowing my pa and my mother had to fight every inch of the way to raise me right, I don't want that for our baby or you. If you don't want to marry me, I can live with that but I can't live knowing that I won't be apart of its life."  
  
"Buck," Inez pulled his hand to her swelling abdomen and held his palm against the taut flesh for a few seconds. He looked at her for a moment, not understanding what it was she was doing until he felt it. Its movement was so slight that he almost thought it was just a reflexive action of muscle until it repeated and suddenly it occurred to him what had just happened.  
  
"Is that...?" His eyes filled with wonder.  
  
"Yes," she nodded, smiling radiantly at him. "That's our baby."  
  
The delight in his face was unmistakable and Inez felt a warm feeling at being able to share this wonderful sensation with him. Until now, she had thought she could do it all on her own and to a certain extent, she still could. However, this moment shared between them reminded her just how much she loved him and how much she wanted him to feel some of the things she was until now, enduring alone.  
  
"That's wonderful." He responded, his voice was almost a whisper. "I really felt it." He started to grin.  
  
"It's getting stronger." Inez laughed, unable to deny how much his joy was affecting her own pleasure. "I think it might be a boy."  
  
"Of course it’s gonna be a boy." Buck laughed, keeping his hand in place, hoping that he might feel that slight movement again. "Ain't ya?" He leaned over and declared loudly.  
  
"It could still be a girl." Inez pointed out.  
  
Buck had only one response to that. "Just as long as you never call her Theodora."


	8. Showdown in Four Corners

Although Buck Wilmington had known Chris Larabee for years and had more or less become to accustomed to all of the man's idiosyncrasies, he had to admit that there were still habits in his old friend's possession that he would never become used to, how much time had passed. Most prolific of all these, was Chris' damnable patience. No matter how tense or disagreeable the situation, Chris always seemed to take it in stride, letting none of it penetrate that veneer of indifference as he sat patiently and waited things out. Buck on the other hand, who possessed no patience whatsoever and hated playing endless waiting games, preferring things to happen quickly instead of wasting time in procrastination.  
  
As he waited with Chris on the roof of the Pemberton Emporium, his eyes shifting from one end of the horizon to the other at regular intervals, Buck tried to imitate the serene patience being displayed by his injured friend. Chris did not react to Buck's incessant fidgeting as they continued to wait, watching the morning drag slowly as they waited for the arrival of the mercenaries. The town was almost deadly quiet, with no one on the street that was not required there.  
  
Across the roofs of many buildings across town, men were stationed with guns. The attack the night before had proven how advantageous it was to have their target pinned from a height and in the onslaught that would soon be, they needed to make further use of that discovery.  
  
Nathan, Ezra, J.D., Josiah was at ground level because they were most capable of dealing with the mercenaries in a face to face confrontation. Chris would remain on the roof of the Emporium because his physical state made him vulnerable even though he could do a great deal of damage to the enemy from this altitude. Four Corners looked like a ghost town with not even horses insight. As Buck cast his gaze throughout the town, he saw a few shapes through the windows of some buildings. Despite himself, he hoped he had done right, allowing Inez to remain in the saloon instead of secreting her some safe like the rest of the women in town. She had been determined to protect the bar although she did promise to keep out of sight unless trouble came through the door. Fortunately, she would not be alone as Ezra had taken up position at the saloon just to alleviate Buck's anxiety on the issue. Although, once he was done here with Chris, Buck had every intention of joining them both.  
  
Alex and Julia were presently in the Emporium, guarding the injured hiding beneath the lower levels of the building, while elsewhere Mary and Rain were keeping a similar vigil on those under their charge. Even Casey who was a reasonable shot, according to J.D., had armed herself and prepared to defend herself against the attackers who had still yet to show but whose presence was felt throughout town, even in their absence.  
  
"Buck quit fidgeting." Chris said finally when Buck's nervousness stretched thin even his limitless patience. "You're working yourself up."  
  
"I don't know how you do it." Buck complained as he kept staring out at the horizon, wishing these mercenaries would just get here so that they could get this whole day over and done with. "I'm sweating bullets here. Doesn't it bother you at all?"  
  
"Of course it bothers me." Chris retorted, wondering how Buck could imagine it would not. His wife was here not to mention his son, well stepson, but the just the same his family, would be in danger just like Inez and Buck's unborn child which was really what held his old friend's concern. "But I ain't no good to anyone if I'm a shaking like a leaf and neither will you, so I'm telling you now, calm. .down." The gunslinger said firmly.  
  
Buck swallowed hard and knew Chris was right. He was helping no one being this way and now more than ever he needed to be alert. "There was a time when the larger the odds the more challenge I saw in a good fight, now I can't see straight for worrying about this town and the people in it. Damn it Chris, since when did one place come to mean so much to us? First rule of the life was that we couldn't afford to care."  
  
Chris tried to keep himself from smiling faintly because these were questions that sounded more appropriate coming from him. Had he not asked these things of himself repeatedly since arriving in Four Corners? "Things change Buck. Our kind of life is disappearing fast like the buffalo and all the ways we use to know. Pretty soon, progress is going to make us obsolete."  
  
"I've been thinking about that idea of yours about going back to ranching." Buck replied after a slight pause. "If you think that we can do that again, I can't see no reason not to join you and Vin. I guess its time for me to face up to a couple of things in my life and you're right, pretty soon we all got to move on."  
  
"Sure thing, partner," Chris answered, genuinely pleased that Buck had accepted his offer. Any return to ranching would seem odd without Buck and for the first time in too long, Chris felt his life returning to some semblance of familiarity he had known before the fire.  
  
"Partner." Buck grinned and then added. "Assuming of course, we don't get killed before the day is out."  
  
"You're almost sounding as bad as Josiah." Chris retorted when suddenly, they heard a voice call out.  
  
"They're coming!"  
  
Chris' expression was immediately drained of its humour and that hard mask fell over his face again. He met Buck's gaze with a steely look of black before uttering simply. "Its time."

* * *

  
Although Ezra Standish looked calm and collected as ever when he heard the call, only those who knew him could see the line of tension running through his being. Keeping a vigil next to the doorway of the saloon, the gambler peered outside the bat wing doors into street, completely aware that while the enemy was sighted, it would be a few more minutes before they actually made it into town. Providing they survived the reception that Buck and Chris had waiting for them, that is. Buck had spent most of the day wiring up a safety perimeter around the town almost every stick of explosive that he had managed to scrounge.  
  
Detonation would be handled by at least two more townsfolk, one of them being Robert Freeman who knew a little something about explosives as well, harkening back to his mining days before he had opted for a more rural existence. The charges would ensure that by the time these bandits made it into town, their numbers would be severely curtailed. Most of the townsfolk had hoped that this would be enough to sent their attackers running but the seven knew that this was not so. Men hired for an operation like this would not run at the first signs of adversity.  
  
Suddenly, he heard movement behind him and Ezra swung around to see Inez emerging from the top of the stairs, with a shotgun in hand. The weapon looked all too big for her and appeared cumbersome in her grip as she made her down the steps.  
  
"Miss Recillos, what on earth do you think you are doing?" Ezra asked although it seemed perfectly obvious, no matter how incredulous it might be.  
  
"I am helping you." She said firmly, with a voice that broke no argument as she approached him. Unfortunately, in this instance she was going to get one.  
  
"No you are _not_." Ezra replied just as strongly. "You will take yourself upstairs and get under some cover. If anything were to happen to yourself and the little one, I may never hear the end of it from Mr. Wilmington."  
  
"I can take care of myself." She retorted, looking resolved to stay no matter what he said.  
  
Ezra swore under his breath and looked out the street, as of yet there seemed no indication of invading bandits and mercenaries before turning back to her. Ezra had known Inez long enough to realize that if she was determined to do this, there was nothing he could say that would convince her otherwise. The woman gave stubbornness a bad name. "If you insist on this foolishness, would you at least get behind the bar where you are afforded some measure of cover?"  
  
"That I can do." Inez conceded, deciding that some of his concern was valid and quickly slipped past the counter as he requested.  
  
"Thank you." Ezra rolled his eyes in resignation before facing front again. "There is a great deal of trouble coming our way my dear and it would not impress me if you are hurt."  
  
"Why Ezra, I didn't know you cared." She teased as she loaded the shotgun behind the bar.  
  
"Of course I care," Ezra looked over his shoulder and grumbled. "For you and your new arrival. Besides, I must admit a perverse desire to see how Mr. Wilmington fares as a father."  
  
"You and me both." Inez sighed, trying not to let worried about Buck get to her at this moment. After their conversation last night, she realized just how much she cared for him and while there was something inside her that was still adamant in not marrying him, Inez knew she wanted him in her life and the life of their child. There had been nothing false about his declaration yesterday when he confessed how much he wanted to be a father to the baby.  
  
"They're reaching the perimeter!" The lookout sentry cried out and Ezra tensed inwardly, making last-minute checks of his guns not to mention his store of reserved ammunition. Once he had completed these examinations to his satisfaction, he turned to Inez and added one last instruction. "Keep your head down, it is about to get extremely chaotic around here."  
  
Inez was not about to argue with him.

* * *

  
There were at least thirty, possibly forty men thundering towards Four Corners with such speed, they created a dust storm of their own. Chris saw the numbers bearing down on the town and realized Selena Quint must have acquired more men during the last few days to replace the numbers of those lost during the raids in town and to boost their forces for this last onslaught. They were a quite a sight as they rode hard across the horizon, rifles slung over their shoulders, with guns tucked neatly in their holsters as they moved across the sparsely forested terrain.  
  
"Jesus." Buck found himself whispering as he saw them fast approaching the town limits.  
  
Chris was watching them just as closely for altogether different reasons. "Get ready to set off the dynamite." He said coolly, wanting to give Buck something to do before his old friends started letting those numbers get to him.  
  
"Yeah." Buck nodded and immediately went to the device that would detonate all the explosives that were laying in wait for this moment. Placing his hands on the handle, ready to depress it as soon as Chris gave the word, he hoped his expertise as a powder man was not as amateurish as he prayed it was not. While he had been extremely careful in setting the charges, not that the time had come, he felt some doubt creep into his mind.  
  
Chris paid little note to Buck's concerns because at the present time, what was approaching Four Corners like a desert storm held most of his attention. His eyes skimmed over the roof tops at the men who were stationed as snipers with him and he could see their fear in their faces. Chris could hardly blame them, a small army of mercenaries and bandits was nothing to take lightly. Most of the men fighting with the seven today were simple townspeople who were accustomed to letting the law handle most of their problems.  
  
"Steady." Chris replied when he saw Buck putting his hands on the handle of the device that would set off the explosions. Returning his gaze to the horizon, he saw them inching towards the defense perimeter with each second that passed. He could not see Selena Quint in their number but assumed she was mostly likely coming up the rear. "Steady." He repeated once more, waiting for the riders to move into position. They were still a good distance from town so the explosions when finally set off would do little damage to Four Corners itself.  
  
"Now!" He shouted.  
  
The explosion was loud and was heard throughout the length and breath of town. Chris saw the advancing line of riders scatter following the detonation. The initial blast had been big enough to kill at least a dozen men, horses collapsing in the face of the blast, throwing their masters off their backs violently. The explosives had been set in such a way that an entire length of desert land had gone up in a fiery blast that had sent dirt and heat in all directions. The bandits neat line of advance immediately dispersed in disorganization following the blast.  
  
"Hot damn it worked!" Buck shouted with euphoria. "How much damage did we do?" He asked, moving to set out off the other charges.  
  
"Enough to break their lines." Chris smiled faintly but knew this was far from over. Even now, more were pouring over the same ground filtering into town. Chris had know that it was impossible to stop these but those who were fanning out and avoiding the previous blast area were ripe targets. "Next wave is coming Buck." Chris warned and Buck stood poised over the handle once again, waiting for Chris to give the word.  
  
"Again!" Chris ordered.  
  
No sooner than he had said the word, he heard the sliding of metal against metal and a second explosion followed, a few yards closer towards town. Like before, the blast claimed more bodies and the area was starting to taken on the appearance of a battlefield. For a moment, Chris felt like he was back in the army fighting Johnny Reb, not Mexican bandits and mercenaries. The explosions had not deterred the attackers but it cut their numbers somewhat. Chris could count at least ten bodies on the ground, not to mention the dead horses strewn about the place.  
  
"Alright, Buck. Let them all go!" He declared.  
  
Buck did not need to be told twice as he moved quickly to carry out Chris' orders. The gunslinger turned his attention back to drama unfolding just beyond Four Corners town limits. The mercenaries were struggling to find a way in, aware now of the danger in treading less than lightly. Another series of eruptions followed, one after another. Chris heard screams through the roar of dynamite being detonated, watching the rain of earth and sand that was forced through the air coming down on the riders like dry precipitation.  
  
For a brief time all they could hear was the thunder of explosions rocking the air and shattering some windows in town from the shock wave, followed by frantic cries of surprise and pain that soon evolved into anger by those who had not died. Judging by the riders making their way past the perimeter now that the explosive part of their defense was exhausted, Chris knew they had done considerable damage to the enemy ranks. Now as they charged towards town, fired up with revenge for their fallen comrades, Chris counted somewhere in the vicinity of twenty five bandits riding towards Four Corners.  
  
"Chris," Buck said quickly. "I'm not gonna do much good here now that we've blown all the charges. I'm going to join the others."  
  
"You do that." Chris agreed, wishing he could do more than direct traffic from this point but as the others had repeatedly told him when they had worked out the specifics of this plan, he was more useful commanding things up here instead of shooting it out with the rest of them. Besides, in the condition he was in, Chris would be more of a liability on the ground than he would be an asset. Only he knew how much pain he was in and Chris was looking forward to taking a few days to recover when this was all over, assuming it ended up in their favour.  
  
"You take care," Buck replied as he started to withdraw toward the roof entrance.  
  
"You too," Chris tipped his hat at Buck and let the unspoken thoughts pass between them before the big man disappeared down the ladder that led off the roof.  
  
"Snipers!" The gunslinger shouted on top of his lungs once Buck had gone, to those waiting on the roof tops waiting for his orders. "Fire when I give the signal." He raised one hand and saw all their eyes from a dozen locations across town focused on him. The bandits were almost in town by this point, their arrival preceded by a cloud of dust as they galloped towards Four Corners, prepared to do the worst. Chris waited until they were in a range of their guns before he would give the signal for the snipers to launch their defense.  
  
Once that was done, it would be every man for himself.  
  
He wished Vin was here because the tracker was the best damn sharpshooter he knew. Chris had seen him nail a target from as far away as 500 yards in the dark and his skills would have been a boost in this firefight. Wherever he was, Chris hoped he was safe.  
  
The bandits had just passed the livery and were definitely inside the town limits. Chris knew they would split up the moment they came to the first intersection or a turn in the main street. After being ambushed during the raids, Chris had to assume the Quint woman would not be foolish enough to make a second mistake by keeping her forces all together. He searched for her through the sea of horses and men invading and spotted her in the thickest part of the group.  
  
If time permitted it, he would have taken her out there and then because he sensed that she was the driving force behind this assault on Four Corners. Unfortunately, it did not and it was time to act. Chris dropped the arm that he had been holding up, in essence giving the snipers the signal they had been waiting for.  
  
"Fire!" He shouted before the world became deaf with the sound of exploding gunfire.

* * *

  
Josiah saw at least four men falling off their horses when the snipers began their attack. Immediately, the bandits looked up to the ceilings as some of them were driven against the sides of buildings by the murderous hail of bullets coming down around their ears. Horses reared up and dismounted its riders while others jumped off their horses and ran cover under the shade of awnings and shop fronts. Frantically, he heard someone shouting orders to find cover while others were could do nothing but continue riding up the street, in an effort to escape the killing zone.  
  
Josiah watched them ride by from inside Gloria Potter's near gutted shop and started firing at the ones who had climbed off their horses and were taking up position to return fire. As they began to regroup, Josiah saw a body falling to the ground for somewhere and winced when he recognized it to be one of the townsfolk. The man who shot him was smashing open the window of the hardware store, attempting to gain entrance to the roof where he might be on equal footing with the rest of the Four Corners' snipers. Josiah was not about to let him get the chance and immediately concentrated his fire on that particular bandit.  
  
Josiah watched his bullets bringing an end to the man's life, feeling that same pang of remorse that came whenever he was forced to use violence to solve a problem. The mercenary slumped against the broken glass window, feeling none of the cuts the broken shards were inflicting upon his body in death. However, Josiah had given his position and three mercenaries on foot immediately converged on him. Checking his gun as they started firing, the preacher ducked for cover behind the charred counter of the store as the bullet started tearing through the place.  
  
Although the structure itself was sound, the fire had more or less destroyed anything it could find inside the confines of the shop itself. Now with the onslaughts of bullets, tearing through the burnt wood, driving deep holes in the walls and shattering any window that was not already damaged. Josiah kept his head down as he reloaded his gun. When he was done, he crawled along the floor as bullets slammed into the wall above him, raining debris of plaster and shrapnel before he emerged at bottom corner of the counter and started returning fire.  
  
He saw one of them attempting to enter the store, taking advantage of his lack of response when he had been reloading his gun. Josiah aimed gun on the man, killing him with two shots before being driven back behind the counter temporarily by the other two men present. Suddenly, the sound of a Winchester shotgun roared through the air with two easy shots and the gunfire inside the room paused momentarily. Josiah peered over the edge of the counter and saw a familiar face.  
  
"Well look what the cat dragged in." Josiah grinned with a genuine smile of pleasure as he saw Vin Tanner standing over two bodies, reloading his gun while wearing that unflappable expression of nonchalance that was unmistakably his alone.  
  
"You looked like you needed the help," Vin replied gesturing at the dead men at his feet.  
  
"It was getting kind of interesting." Josiah had to admit as both men took cover behind the wall because things were still rather lively outside. "Did you managed to get to Sweet Water?"  
  
"I wouldn't be back unless I did." Vin responded immediately. "I got into town yesterday and found out that people were being turned back because someone had told them that Four Corners had the fever. That's why, no one came looking for us when the telegraph went down. I told them what was happening and how we were being blockaded. Sheriff Borland wouldn't let me leave until my arm was looked at but as soon as their saw bones did, I took off to get back here."  
  
"So help is coming." Josiah sighed in relief, glad that at least one thing was going their way.  
  
"As soon as he could round it up," Vin said with a faint smile. "They should be here soon."  
  
"Thank the Lord," the preacher laughed and ducked for cover when three bandits started firing in their direction. The two lawmen felt the bullets tearing through the walls, one or two creating beams of light as the wood split away from the force of the ammunition. Both Vin and Josiah ran back to the safety of the counter top, barely clearing the top as another hail of bullets came tearing through the air, seconds behind them.  
  
The wall above them became riddled with bullet holes and pieces of debris rained on top of their heads. Josiah looked at Vin as they prepared to retaliate with a wide grin on his face. "Ain't you glad to be back brother?"  
  
As more wood and plaster crumbled onto the brim of Vin's hat, the tracker remarked with a frown. "Oh yeah, wouldn't miss it for the world."  
  
"Amen to that." Josiah laughed and started shooting.

* * *

  
Ezra saw at least four of them coming in his direction and knew that it was time for Inez to vacate. She had not had the chance to help him with the defense of the saloon because it was not safe and for her to emerge from behind the counter. As it was the shotgun was hardly and effective weapon from her present position and as Ezra checked the shells remaining in his gun, he knew that by the time it took for him to reload, they might be upon him. Nevertheless, he had little effort but to try.  
  
Four of the mercenaries had converged on the saloon once they realized that there was a formidable shot picking off their companions from inside the establishment. All of them carried guns on either side and at the moment, were sending the entire complement of ammunition through the windows and open door. There was no longer an unbroken windows as bullets slammed past the glass and destroying the bottles sitting on the shelves behind the counter. As Ezra had struggled to reload his guns, he was glad Inez had the sense to take refuge under the counter until this was all over. If the worst came to worst and he was unable to stop these men from invading the building, he hoped to provide her some measure of concealment until help came.  
  
Retreating from the door as he saw them advance, Ezra flipped a table over and sought refuge behind it as they started riddling the felt covered surface with bullets. It went through the table easily and Ezra groaned in pain when one of them cut through his thigh. Bitting down hard and ignoring the pain, Ezra snapped the chamber into place one his gun was reloaded and started returning fire. Peeking over the edge of the table long enough to see where the prey was, he started firing. The noise of bullets sent one of the bandits out into the open and Ezra put him down promptly, collapsing his body half way through a broken window in death.  
  
He heard the glass of another window breaking but this time sound did not come from the front but the back. Looking over his shoulder, he continued to lay suppressing fire while coming to the conclusion that someone was attempting to penetrate the building by way of the kitchen. At this time, the intruder could easily shoot him in the back while Ezra was still busy with his companions at the front of the saloon. Someone he had to get there without being cut to ribbons. It was bad enough the injury to his leg hampered his movements but each shot fired, he was inching closer and closer towards needing to reload once again.  
  
Hearing the sounds emanating from the kitchen behind him, Ezra knew he had run out of time. He shoved the table forward, hoping it would afford enough of a distraction before emerging with both guns blazing. He managed to hit one of the men taking refuge behind the doorway and did not wait to see if he had shot the seconds. Retreating into the kitchen, he passed through the doorway as another bandit started to sneak out of the room. Ezra, who possessed faster reflexes than his opponent, reacted swiftly, knocking the gun from the man's hands. The bandit however was not about to give up and struck a foot on Ezra's wounded leg.  
  
The gambler let out a cry of pain as the Mexican lunged at him.  
  
Both men went down although nothing on this earth was getting Ezra's gun away from him, even though the enemy had both hands on the wrist holding it, trying to force him into relinquishing his grips. With his free hands, Ezra struck him across the jaw and sent the man tumbling off him. Ezra rolled onto his knees and winced in pain at the movements his injured thigh was forced to perform. The man crashed into Inez's kitchen table and toppled all its contents on himself when he brought it down. Absurdly, Ezra found himself thinking that lunch was not going to be served today.  
  
Unfortunately, the contents that had fallen around his ears included a rather nasty looking kitchen knife with a lengthy blade and an equally thick handle. The bandit wrapped his hand around the hilt and started swishing at Ezra who felt back to avoid being slashed across the chest with the formidable weapon. The wound was making his movements slow and as he struggled to gain his balance, the mercenary hissing in satisfaction as he advanced, brandished the knife with every intention of embedding it deep inside Ezra's body. The gambler did not give him the chance and though awkwardly placed on the floor, Ezra aimed fast and pulled the trigger.  
  
The bullet caught him in the center of his forehead, knocking the man's hat off his as his head lolled back once his brain was sliced in half. The knife was still in his grip as he fell backward and Ezra watched in morbid fascination as blood began to ooze from the fatal pulp of flesh where his bullet had ended everything that the man was. Ezra grimaced as he forced himself onto his feet, dusting himself off at the same time and regarded the corpse.  
  
"You Sir," Ezra muttered holding his bleeding thigh. "Must be the only individual stupid enough to brandish a knife at a gunfight."  
  
No sooner than those words had passed his lips, he became aware of a more pressing sound that eclipsed the noise being made by the gunfight beyond the walls of the saloon. He heard the audible click of a trigger being pulled and looked over his shoulder to find himself staring at the gunmen he thought he had dispatched outside. Unlike his companions, the mercenary was not Mexican but that did not change the fact that he was had the advantage.  
  
"And you should know better than to assume that you've killed two men when you only shot one." The stranger grinned, spitting a mouthful of tobacco on the floor as he met Ezra's gaze, triumphant in the knowledge that one of them was about to die and it was not going to be him.  
  
Ezra straightened his coat and remarked with total calm. "Under the circumstances, it does appear that you may be correct on that pearl of wisdom."  
  
He saw the man's finger tighten around the trigger and braced himself for the pain when suddenly the loud boom of a double barrel shotgun was heard. Its noise was so loud that Ezra jumped startled and then dropped his gaze to his chest to confirm that it had not been him that was shot. There was no sign or feeling of injury.  
  
Looking up, he saw the mercenary who minutes ago had been so confident that he would take Ezra's life, stagger forward with pain etched in his contorted features. He dropped his guns to the floor and the metal against wood clattered noisily. A large crimson stain had seeped through the man's clothes and was expanding across his chest. He took another step or two forward before the life drained out of his face and he fell forward, landing flat on his face at Ezra's feet. The gambler saw the ruined flesh of his back and raised his eyes to see Inez standing at the doorway, with the double barrel shotgun in her hand, still shaking.  
  
"Inez." He limped over to her.  
  
"I never killed anyone before." She whispered, trying to hide how much pulling the trigger on the man had effected.  
  
"You saved my life," Ezra reminded and took the gun away from her. She was more than happy to give it up. "He would have killed me otherwise."  
  
"I know." She swallowed, trying to maintain that brassy manner of confidence that endeared her to so many, himself included. "I've held a gun before and I wanted to kill Don Paulo and those men who hurt me months ago but those were just thoughts."  
  
"Dear lady," Ezra tried to be gentle and he did not want to sound insensitive but this was not the time for such debates. Outside still sounded as if all hell was breaking loose and she needed to be whisked away to safety, the last few minutes confirmed that for him like nothing else. "You did what was necessary to save my life and yours as well. Now, you need to get upstairs, for your own sake and that of your child. Would you do that for me, please?" He met her gaze with a silent plea.  
  
"Yes." Inez nodded, deciding she wanted nothing more to do with shooting anyone.  
  
"Good," Ezra said leading her out of the kitchen and ushering her towards the stairs of the saloon. As of yet, no other mercenaries had turned their attention to the establishment once more but Ezra did not hold out hopes that it was a situation that would last indefinitely.  
  
"You're hurt." She noted his limping now that she was more recovered from what she had just done.  
  
"I am," he brushed aside the injury. "But it's merely a scratch. I have endured worse."  
  
The bat wing doors suddenly swung open and Ezra automatically turned towards it, aiming his gun and the double barrel in his hand. Buck Wilmington froze in place for a moment and declared tautly. "Hell Ezra, ain't there enough people out there trying to shoot me without you helping them?"  
  
"Buck!" Inez said happily, ignoring the sarcastic rebuttal that Ezra was no doubt about to deliver and quickly hurried to the lawman and embraced him hard in a full body hug. "You're okay!" She gushed happily.  
  
"Sure I am Darlin'," Buck smiled at the reception before pulling her away from the open doors to a more safe location. "What are you doing down here?" He asked concerned, expecting her to be in the rooms above the saloon, not down here where there was so much danger.  
  
"Saving my life." Ezra retorted. "I was about to escort her upstairs but since you are here, I think I might just take a moment to tend to myself."  
  
"You're hit?" Buck asked with concern, catching the slight wince of pain and made a quick scan of Ezra's person to see the blood stains on his trouser leg. Ezra's answer was cut shot by the sound of fresh gunfire slamming into the wall next to the staircase. The gambler jumped for cover, barely missing the hail of bullets that would have killed him otherwise.  
  
"Come on!" Buck shouted and grabbed Inez by the hand as they both jumped over the counter of the bar. They leaped over the counter top covered in broken glass, debris and spilled liquor barely noticing any of it as they ducked for cover.  
  
Ezra in the meantime found himself behind the felt covered gambling table he did most of his best work during less stressful occasions than this one. As he reloaded his gun, the gambler kept thinking that it would be most ironic if he died behind one too.

* * *

  
Nathan Jackson was probably going to get himself killed but he could not help himself.  
  
Every time he saw the bandits shoot someone he knew, the healer's instinct took over completely and the would-be physician was hurrying to their aide even though his capacity in this campaign was not as a field surgeon. He was out in the street, dragging bodies into places of safety, taking a moment to examine the ones who were not beyond help and rendering medical assistance in the confines of buildings that were being riddled by bullets even as he worked.  
  
The battle had been raging for sometime now and while it was difficult to gauge a winner in all this, he could tell that there were more mercenaries being killed then there were townsfolk. Although Nathan did not like to count statistics in that way since all life was precious to him, he had to force himself to remember that Four Corners was fighting for its life here. One of the snipers, Will Jefferson had not been hit badly but the fall from the top of the roof where he had been position to the ground had done severe damage. As Nathan dragged the town's blacksmith through the front door of the hotel saloon, he made a quick examination and knew that Jefferson needed help soon.  
  
"You got leave me, Nathan." He groaned in pain. "You can't be looking after me."  
  
"Now you let me worry about that Will," Nathan said pulling open his shirt so that he could examine the man more closely. Nathan was completely aware of the mayhem taking place outside the deserted confines of the saloon. "Now tell me where it hurts." He asked.  
  
"In my ribs," the man replied and upon examination by Nathan's skilled fingers, Will let out a groan of pain when Nathan touched the tender spot. "I landed on my side." He grunted as Nathan continued working.  
  
"I think you've broken a few." Nathan guessed and flinched at the sound of another bullet shattering a window somewhere. "I hate to do this but I'm going to have to move you, Will. We can't stay here with all the fighting."  
  
"Whatever you say, Nathan." The man looked at Nathan with complete trust. "I know you'll do what's best."  
  
Nathan flashed the man a warm smile when he heard the crack of gunfire that shattered the main window of the saloon. He saw a number of mercenaries coming right at him and knew that he had to get Will to safety now. Hastily pulling the man to his feet, Will let out a groan of pain as Nathan dragged him to the far end of the room where the door to the rest of the hotel was. As he approached it, glancing over his shoulder at regular intervals to see how close the mercenaries were from storming this place and having his head, the door opened.  
  
"I'll take him." Jules Lawson, the owner of the hotel emerged. The man had been ordered like the rest of his guests, to stay in their rooms until this was all over. However, Nathan could not deny that it was good to see Lawson at this moment.  
  
"Thanks," Nathan said gratefully as the thin, reedy looking man took Will Jefferson from his grip and started dragging the injured blacksmith into the safety of the hotel's inner rooms.  
  
"You coming?" Lawson asked concerned as it appeared Nathan was about to do nothing of the sort.  
  
"Sorry," the healer turned away and hurried to the doorway, preparing to take up position to put down the men converging upon the establishment. "I got to stay and fight but you get going now. You don't want to be here when the shooting starts."  
  
Lawson nodded wildly and disappeared through the door with Will Jefferson, allowing Nathan to let out a sigh of relief at that particular problem being taken care of. There were still so many others lying in the dirt on the street, requiring his aide. The healer felt doubly helpless that he would not be able to do anything to assist them until the trio of mercenaries coming at him was dealt with. Seeing one man sneaking along the outside wall, attempting to sneak in through the broken window, immediately forced Nathan into moving. The healer immediately took aim and fired. He did not know where his bullet had caught the man but it was enough that his advance was halted and the others had stopped their attempts to enter the premises.  
  
He heard excited voices calling others to join them. While his understanding of Spanish was rudimentary, Nathan heard enough to know that he was soon going to be swamped. Checking both his guns to ensure that they were filled, he prepared for the onslaught that came with the roar of gunfire tearing through the air.  
  
Nothing mounted on the walls facing windows or the main doors was spared as the lethal spread of fire shattered pictures, ornaments, windows, light fixtures and anything that was in its path. The polished wood of the floor was becoming littered with debris and fragments of broken objects.  
  
Nathan peered over the edge of his refuge and saw the remaining two had called for reinforcements and would be upon him soon enough. Refusing to let them cover any more ground, Nathan started firing into the thickest part of the group and watched them scatter as he let loose a surge of gunfire in their direction. It was not to say that they did not give as good as they got because no sooner than he had paused to reload, another barrage of fire followed, weakening the wall behind which he was taking cover. He could feel the constant impact starting to resonate through the wood and knew it would not take much more before the bullets started penetrating all the way through.  
  
Realizing he could not stay where he was any longer, Nathan dashed out and was immediately running hard to dodge bullets that were whizzing past his ears. His advance was halted abruptly when he felt one dig deep into his knee. Nathan cried out as he felt the hot piece of lead striking bone before ricocheting out of his body. The healer collapsed where he was hit, falling down hard as he struggled to crawl to safety. Unfortunately, the injury to his knee was as severe as the pain he felt. Grunting in agony as he struggled across the floor, the best he could do to protect himself, was to up end a table and use it as a shield, although under constant fire, it would eventually come across the same problem as the wall he tried to hide behind.  
  
Lying close to the floor because he was harder to hit that way, Nathan started shooting at anything that moved, knowing that once the mercenaries penetrated the perimeter of the saloon, he would be vulnerable, as if he was not already. He killed three men in their tracks, dropping them at various stages of progress into the building. However, the pain was starting to get the better of him, no matter how hard he was fighting it. He could feel hot tendrils of agony snaking up his leg, paralyzing him with its intensity, no matter how hard he tried to endure it. At this stage, he could not even stand up and Nathan never felt so damn helpless in his life.  
  
If things had not already reached their worst, Nathan soon discovered he was almost out of ammunition and there were still two of them closing in on him. By now, they had become smarter, opting to find another way in and Nathan knew that he was in no position to stop them if they threw any surprises in his direction. Taking a deep breath, he forced away the pain even though he could feel his trousers became wet with blood as he continued to bleed. The shooting had stopped for the moment and Nathan started becoming apprehensive at not being able to see them.  
  
Outside the gunfire had not ceased although he noticed it was lessening considerably. As his eyes scanned the length and breath of the saloon and as far outside he could see, Nathan saw no sign of the duo who had tried to overrun him earlier. While it might simply be that they had given up trying to take him, Nathan was not that optimistic. He listened for every sound beyond the shooting outside and heard nothing, which only disconcerted him more. Taking advantage of the pause, even though he knew something unpleasant was coming at him, Nathan rolled onto his back and attempted to sit up as he examined his damaged knee.  
  
The injury was as bad as it felt, he noted with unhappiness. Not only was it possible that his kneecap might have been shattered and he prayed it was not, convalescence was going to require absolutely no use of his leg for the duration. He hated being off his feet for any reason although if he died today, then it was probably going to be academic. As of yet, there was no sign of the trouble he was expecting but he could feel its presence lurking in the shadows, like a pregnant drop of water waiting to drop.  
  
He need not have waited too long.  
  
The door through which he had relinquished care of Will Jefferson to Jules Lawson swung open and locked in the grip of a bandit who was holding a gun to his head. Nathan saw Lawson's eyes wide with terror as his assailant kept a firm arm locked across his throat, keeping the man in place as he was nudged onto the floor of the saloon. The bandit was sneering at Nathan, daring him to shoot even though he knew the healer would do no such thing to protect Lawson.  
  
"Drop your gun." He ordered with a smile that only served to reveal several rotted teeth.  
  
Nathan hesitated, knowing what it would mean to do so.  
  
"Now." The main reiterated by jamming the gun barrel harder against the side of Lawson's head. "Or I kill him in front of you."  
  
"Only if you let him go." Nathan declared.  
  
"After you drop your gun." The man repeated, with every intention of not keeping that promise Nathan was certain. Still, the healer had no other choice but to comply.  
  
Taking a deep breath and swearing when he exhaled, Nathan reluctantly relaxed the grip of his gun and let the weapon dropped to the floor. "Now let him go." He reminded the bandit of his earlier condition.  
  
"Sorry." The man threw Nathan a cruel grin and shoved Lawson aside before aiming his gun to shoot. However, Nathan had one trick up his sleeve that he had banked on using to save Lawson. The moment the man had started to push Lawson aside, Nathan reached behind his back and pulled out the blade he had secreted in its sheath. With lightning fast reflexes he had honed over the years, Nathan threw the knife.  
  
It twirled through the air with even more speed than the bandit was capable of pulling the trigger and it landed with almost as much accuracy. The bandit staggered backwards as the length of the blade buried itself in his throat almost to the hilt. Gurgling sounds followed the gush of blood as he dropped his guns on the floor and reached for his neck. Lawson scrambled behind the bar as Nathan watched dispassionately his attempts to dislodge the weapon.  
  
Behind him, he heard a fresh series of gunfire and groaned at what could possibly come at him now. However, instead of seeing more bandits or mercenaries, whatever they were, he saw the partner of the man he had just killed, falling dead through the doors of the saloon. Following him was Vin Tanner and Josiah Sanchez who hurried into the room and surveyed the situation.  
  
"Vin!" Nathan exclaimed. "Man, are you sight for sore eyes!" The healer smiled.  
  
"So everyone keeps telling me," Vin replied, crossing the floor in two strides to reach Nathan while Josiah took the point to ensure they would not be having any more unexpected guests for the time being. "You don't look too good Doc." The tracker noted the blood on his leg and the pain that he was trying so hard.  
  
"Just a scratch," Nathan replied even though they both knew it was a little more than that.  
  
"I'm sure it is," Vin said leaning over to help him up because Nathan was out of the game as far as he was concerned. "Come on, let's get you out of here."  
  
Lawson chose to emerge from his hiding place at that point, now that he was certain that the coast was clear of any further danger. "Is he all right?" The hotel owner asked as he looked at Nathan, unmindful of how Nathan had been willing to risk his life to save Lawson's own.  
  
"He's been better," Vin answered as Nathan let out a cry of pain when the tracker lifted him off the ground. Instinctively, Josiah turned to them both."  
  
"You need a hand, Vin?" Josiah asked immediately.  
  
"I'll help you," Lawson spoke up, wading through the debris on the floor to reach them both. "It's the least I can do." The man replied and slid Nathan's other arm over his shoulder, taking the weight of the healer's injured foot.  
  
"Is it true what they say, Nathan?" Vin asked as they started moving him out of the saloon.  
  
"What?" The healer looked at him in confusion.  
  
"That doctors make the worst patients." The tracker grinned mischievously at him.  
  
"Aw shut up," Nathan grumbled. "Ain't I in enough pain already. ."

* * *

  
It was him!  
  
It was Diaz! J.D. recognized the Mexican commander as he and his men were attempting to shoot down Eric Dunlevy and Mr. Rosken from the hardware store. Both men were at the moment stationed on the top of the O'Leary roof and had been doing considerable damage to the numbers of attacking mercenaries if the bodies littering the ground were any indication. J.D. had been assisting himself, providing ground cover like so many others around the area, whenever the mercenaries had tried to reach the duo by storming the building. Diaz was not one of those who chose to hide behind his men and fought alongside of them. J.D. found himself admiring the man a little and wondered what he must have been like in the days when he did command an army.  
  
However, his fascination with that question soon passed as he saw Mr. Rosken stagger backward as one of the bandit's bullets reached him. Although J.D. could not tell whether or not Nathan's landlord was badly injured, it did prompt the young man to concentrate his fire in the direction of Diaz and his men. As he squeezed off a few rounds from the safety of one of the stores in the main street, J.D. suddenly realized that he had brought Diaz's attention to himself and the commander of the mercenaries was now directing some of his man towards him.  
  
"Damn!" J.D. hissed as he saw at least five of them converging on himself and quickly checked his guns to ensure that he would not come up short when the firing started. In accordance with Chris' instructions, they had all loaded themselves with as much ammunition as they could carry, aware that when the shooting began they would not have time, to run around scavenging for bullets. J.D.'s fumbled with the bullets as he tried to reload as quickly as possible, aware mindful of how fast they were closing in on him.  
  
"J.D.!" He saw Casey emerging from the back door of the place. She was carrying a rifle and looked prepared to use it as she hurried toward him.  
  
"Casey!" J.D. almost shouted with horror. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I came to help you!" She said proudly.  
  
"Help me?" He flared up, unable to believe that she had done this stupid, stupid, stupid thing. "Are you out of your mind? Those are mercenaries out there! You should be with the other women!" He glanced out the window and saw Diaz and his men taking up position to bombard this building with everything they had in their arsenal. Suddenly, J.D. had some idea of what Buck must have felt after he had announced where he had been the night he had sneaked into the camp of the mercenary bandits.  
  
"J.D." Casey stared at him with her jaw set. "I can shoot as well as you can so stop treating me like a girl!"  
  
"Have you ever killed a man!" He returned sharply.  
  
Casey glared at him with narrowed eyes. "No, but I'm willing to start with you!"  
  
Her exclamation followed a burst of gunfire and she immediately dropped to her knees and scrambled next to J.D. who was taking up refuge near a window. The barrage was as heavy as he had anticipated and very soon, the wall and almost every inch of space in front of the shop front was riddled with bullet holes.  
  
"Stay down." He hissed as he started shooting at the enemy he could see. Diaz had surrounded the front half of the building while the rest of his men was concentrating on dislodging Dunlevy from the roof.  
  
"I can help!" She returned and crawled to the other side of the shop front window, keeping her head low as she made the journey.  
  
"Casey!" J.D. barked furiously as he paused what he was doing. "Stay where you are!"  
  
However, she was not listening to him and was soon on the other end of the room, sliding her rifle through the open space and preparing to add his fire to her own. J.D. knew she could shoot well enough because he had seen her do it before and knew that if she had to, she would shoot a man down. During the last attack by Royal and James on this town, she had defended the town just as valiantly as anyone else who had picked up a gun to fight. However, this was different! These weren't just regular kinds of outlaws they were facing, these were mercenaries who would not stop until they were dead or the persons they intended on killing were. Not to mention, that Casey had narrowly missed being violated by them earlier.  
  
A bullet surged past him and J.D. fell back to avoid it. Casey turned to him and said sharply. "J.D., watch what you're doing! You're liable to get your head blown off!"  
  
J.D. cursed under his breath and returned his attention to the bandits, begrudgingly forced to admit that she was right. He had better concentrate on what he was doing or else he would be dead long before she ever was, not unless he shot her first. J.D. sought Diaz in the group and saw that he was giving all the orders on this brutal assault upon himself and Casey. Beams of light were starting to pour through the building from all the bullets tearing the place apart and while Casey was holding her own, firing at the enemy while keeping clear of return, fire, he could see her apprehension showing in her face.  
  
J.D. took a deep breath and closed his eyes briefly as he forced away all other sound and thoughts form his mind. Expunging himself of distractions like the possibility of eminent death or what would happen to Casey should she fall into the hands of the bandits, J.D. let these worries drain from him. When he opened his eyes once again, he was focused and calm as he had intended to be. Aiming carefully because he knew he was capable of making the shot despite the chaos around him, J.D. set his sights of the man whose demise could bring an end to this fighting much more swiftly than a thousand bullets could achieve.  
  
He waited for a few seconds as he took careful aim, remembering what Vin had told him about making such shots. True, he was not using a rifle but that hardly mattered. In the background, he could hear Casey demanding why he was not shooting even though her voice barely registered in his head. Nothing mattered except the final moment when he was ready to pull the trigger. Opportunities came and went, windows of possibility that surfaced briefly and were rejected flew by him in those seconds until finally he saw the ideal moment arrive and J.D. Dunne pulled the trigger, with no hesitation or doubt.  
  
Diaz had been in the process of making a shot, exposing his body long enough to pull the trigger on their enemy inside the building when the bullet that had been delivered with such deliberation, tore through his chest, cutting through skin and bone and cleaving his heart in two. J.D.'s eyes widened as he saw the mercenary leader utter a growl of pain as the shot knocked him off his feet. He saw the man go down and waited for the lengthy few minutes it took to discover whether or not he had actually killed the man or merely wounded him.  
  
The firing stopped abruptly as Diaz's men hurried to their fallen leader. Among them, J.D. recognized the man they had sent back to deliver Chris' message to Selena.  
  
"J.D.," Casey saw what had happened and asked him quietly, her face full of confusion but also fear. "What did you do?"  
  
J.D. did not answer because at this point, he was not sure himself. However, when he saw that Diaz was not getting up from where he had fallen and the other mercenaries turning slowly in the direction of the shop, with nothing less than murder in their eyes, he had a fair idea that he might have just made things worse.  
  
The gunfire began again, only this time it was more ferocious, more fevered if such a thing could be measured. The barrage was so heavy that it kept J.D. and Casey pinned to the ground, unable to return fire because the moment they lifted their heads to do so, someone was going to shoot it off. Casey crawled back to J.D., uttering a small squeal of fright each time a bullet came to close despite J.D.'s angry demands that she keep still.  
  
"J.D., I'm scared!" She cried out as more and more light beams appeared through the shop and it was becoming obvious that they were outgunned and trapped in this tiny corner.  
  
"It's going to be okay, Casey," J.D. replied as he took her hand in his and squeezed it lightly. J.D. tried firing back but he could manage no more than a few rounds before he was forced back into his tight little corner. He knew that eventually, they were going to storm the place.  
  
All of a sudden the gunfire aimed at the shop ceased even though they could hear the shots still being fired. For a moment, J.D. and Casey merely looked at each other, trying to decide whether or not this was some kind of trick and coming to the realization a short time later that it was not. Peering out of the window, they saw Buck, Vin, Ezra, and Josiah exchanging gunfire with the mercenaries who had kept them pinned inside this building.  
  
"All right!" J.D. exclaimed loudly, hugging Casey in joy as he saw his friends coming to the rescue. "Didn't I tell ya!" He looked at her and grinned as he pulled her to him and J.D. pressed his lips against hers in a kiss of pure joy.  
  
"J.D.!" She shoved him aside and slapped him. J.D. stared at her in disappointment when suddenly, Casey grabbed him by the lapels of his coat and pulled him towards her. Her mouth met his in a softer more lingering kiss and J.D. decided that she definitely knew how to do this a lot better than he did before they both become lost in time and sensation.  
  
"Well hello there J.D.," they have finally pulled apart when Buck Wilmington stepped through the front door and stared at them, with a smirk on his face that spoke volumes. "Are we interrupting something?"

* * *

  
Chris Larabee surveyed the scene before him and although there were far too many bodies in the street for his liking, the gunslinger knew they were holding their own quite well against the forces that were attempting to destroy the town. He knew that when the final tally was made even the loss of one life would be too many but for the moment, Four Corners was fighting for its life and doing quite well. The ground beneath the Pemberton Emporium was surrounded by bodies of would be invaders to the establishment. Chris has spent most of the battle playing sniper on top of the roof top because he knew that in his present state of health, that was all that he was capable of managing. He felt bad that he could not join his friends and hoped that the rest of the seven, including Vin, wherever he was, had fared as well as he.  
  
While the battle was far from being won, since he could still hear gunfire emanating throughout town along with other sounds that signaled violence, Chris knew they were holding the line drawn. Chris could not be certain but he was sure that the mercenaries had taken severe losses if the corpses littering the street were anything to base a final judgment upon. Unfortunately, it was unrealistic to assume that all of the bodies belonged to the enemy and assumed when this was all over, there was going to be a great deal of burying and mourning to be done. The town itself would survive but it had suffered substantially as evidenced by the burnt out buildings, the damage done to almost all structures in the main street and of course by the dead.  
  
He reloaded his rifle as he saw two more bandits attempting to enter the building, preparing to fire at him in order to gain access unhampered.  
  
Considering how many women, children and wounded were hiding in the basement of the building, Chris was not about to let that happen in any shape or form. Reloading his gun, the gunslinger readied himself to despatch them as easily as he had done do to others who had made the previous attempt of the kind when suddenly, he caught sight of something moving at the corner of his eyes. Chris whirled around quickly and followed that errant vision and saw Selena Quint attempting to enter the building through the back entrance.  
  
He had no sooner made that discovery when the mercenaries below began shooting at him. Chris barely missed being shot as the bullets flew past him and he quickly took cover against the roof's edging. Chris swore loudly, knowing that this exercise was merely a distraction while Selena infiltrated the building. He had to get down into Emporium before Selena was allowed to wreak whatever dark purpose had led her here in the first place. Unfortunately, the two mercenaries assigned to delay him were doing their jobs well and while Chris prevented them from advancing into the Emporium, they had sought places for cover that made it difficult for him to get a clear shot.  
  
In the nearby distance, he saw three people approaching and was hardly surprised when he saw who it was that was leading them. Vin Tanner was closing in on the duo set to occupy his time, with Buck and Josiah completing the net to which they were completely unaware. Chris found himself grinning at their timing and decided that was usually the way with Vin. Pleased to know that his friend was alive and well, Chris further acknowledged that he could leave things in their worthwhile hands as he went to deal with Quint. He wondered if she had risked herself just to get a shot at him when Chris discarded his rifle and proceeded towards the open door of the roof, with only his peacemakers at his side.  
  
It occurred to him just exactly what Selena Quint wanted when he started climbing down.  
  
Julia.

* * *

  
"What do you think is happening out there?" Julia Pemberton asked Alexandra Styles in the dark confines of the basement in which they were hidden.  
  
"I don't know." Alex shook her head unable to answer while she continued to keep a close eye on the patients around her. They had all been sitting in darkness for quite some time now, saying very little as they heard the noises of the violence ensuing outside. Everyone in this room, had loved ones, family or merely just friends, fighting for the survival of their town and their lives beyond this safe haven they had been secreted. Alex tried not to think of Vin or where he was as the gunfire continued and the screams of death fouled the air with its potent stench.  
  
Julia was in a similar state of distress, thinking about Ezra and how he was doing out there. It felt maddening to just sit here and wait and yet there was very little she could do beyond just that. Sometimes, she just hated being considered one of the womenfolk, expected to wait around, twiddling their thumbs with no idea what was happening, shielded from everything, even grief at the time. It was infuriating!  
  
"I wish I knew what was happening!" Julia said standing up to pace. There was little enough to do inside this dark prison and this was the only way she found she could expend her energies without going insane. "I hate having to wait here!"  
  
"Calm down," Alex said trying to hide just how exhausted she was. She had spent most of the time in here, ensuring that her patients were comfortable even though she could appreciate Julia's feelings in this, she did not want the woman's panic to upset her charges. "You're spooking everyone else."  
  
"Sorry," Julia apologized and saw the emotion in Alex's eyes that she was trying so hard to hide form everyone. "I'm sure Vin will turn up. He knows all that nature stuff, he's bound to have reached Sweet Water by now."  
  
"Thanks," the doctor replied, grateful for the effort although its results were questionable.  
  
Julia was about to respond when she heard movement on the floorboards above them. Her eyes immediately met Alex's and they both stared at each other for a moment, trying to decide who was up there. "Do you think it's them?" She asked quietly and saw a similar ripple of concern traveling throughout the room.  
  
"I don't know," Alex shook her head in answer. "Everyone, keep it down." She ordered and those in the room obliged, particularly when they had no idea with whom they were dealing. The footsteps moved across the floor above their heads, before taking a sharp turn towards the doorway.  
  
Suddenly, the door to the basement opened abruptly and a decidedly feminine voice sang out as she made her descent into the dimly lit room. "My, my, my what a nice little hideaway, you have here."  
  
Selena Quint let her eyes travel over the faces before her but there was only two that held any real interest. "Doctor Styles and Miss Pemberton." Selena glared at them. "It has been a long time."  
  
"Not long enough." Alex quipped in typical fearlessness. "What do you want?"  
  
"I want Julia." She said producing the guns Alex had no doubt she would not be afraid to use. "Or I kill everyone else, starting with you." She shifted the barrel just enough so that Alex would take a direct hit.  
  
"You'll kill us anyway," Alex said calling her bluff.  
  
"True," Selena agreed with a faint smile. "But I won't make it quick as I had intended."  
  
"Enough!" Julia exclaimed. "I can handle the killing and the shooting buts it's the diatribe I can't stand. For goodness sake, you sound just like any other predictable villain in a book, I suppose next you'll be telling us what your grand plan for world domination is all about before you kill us?"  
  
"Step outside," Selena ordered. "Step outside and I won't show you just how predictable I am." Her eyes flashed nothing but hatred at Julia. The Emporium owner put on a brave face, determined not to show just how frightened she was even though the possibility of this confrontation was one that she had been expecting.  
  
"Julia, no!" Alex protested as Julia started to walk towards Selena. "She'll kill you."  
  
"Shut up," Selena warned and gestured Julia to continue her departure from the basement. Alex watched helplessly as Julia walked calmly up the stairs, very much the lady she was felt completely useless that she could do nothing to stop Selena who was following her.  
  
Julia felt her heart pounding, wondering what Selena had in mind and hoping that whatever her plan Julia would have the opportunity to defend herself when she finally put it into effect. She emerged first from the doorway leading to the basement when she saw Chris Larabee waiting for Selena to appear. Chris motioned her to be silent and continue walking as if she was still under the mercenary's power. The gunslinger waited by the edge of the doorway, making certain that Julia was well clear when he heard Selena's footsteps behind her.  
  
The barrel of her gun emerged first and Chris yanked the weapon out of her hand even before Selena was aware that he was there. She, however, reacted far swifter than he gave her credit and immediately swung at him, intending to deliver a painful blow to his wounded chest. Chris managed to stop her fist with his own and twisted her arm so savagely that she almost spun in mid-air before collapsing on the ground, hitting the floor hard on her side.  
  
"Get out of here, Julia!" Chris ordered and saw the woman disappear behind some stacked boxes.  
  
Selena looked up at her nemesis in this whole affair, preparing to draw on her and knew she was not about to let that happen. "Mr. Larabee, we meet at last." She retorted before kicking her foot out and connecting with the side of his knee.  
  
Chris winced as he dropped to the floor, taking note of her scrambling to her feet. She intended to fight him as she came towards him and Chris knew just from her manner that in his present condition, she could be somewhat formidable. She was about to deliver him a high kick to the jaw when Chris grabbed her leg and shoved her backward. Once again, she landed hard on the floor and recovered like a cat, rolling on to her knees and preparing to launch herself at him again.  
  
"I was right," Chris remarked sarcastically as he sidestepped her attempt to swing at him. "You do fight like a girl."  
  
"Why don't you show me?" She twisted her lips in a cruel sneer and threw a punch that he deflected easily when suddenly, her other hand slipped in between them and she struck him hard against the chest.  
  
The pain was almost immediate and Chris felt his entire body scream in agony as she struck the one place that he was most vulnerable. He could feel warm blood exuding from burst stitches in the wake of her attack and knew that instinctively that he was bleeding again. He staggered back, trying to gain a handle on the pain, still aware through the red haze on the intense sensation that she was still advancing towards him. Feeling a surge of anger, Chris lashed out with more speed than she was ever capable of producing and struck her with a backhanded blow that sent Selena sprawling. As he struggled to remain on his feet, he was conscious of her landing in a stack of cardboard boxes.  
  
Selena could taste blood in her mouth as she struggled to get up when suddenly, she heard the sound of a trigger being pulled very close to her ear. Her head swung around sharply but it was not Chris Larabee she was staring at. The gunslinger was leaning against the wall, trying to recover from the blow she had delivered to him. Instead, Selena found herself facing a derringer being brandished with perfect calm by her intended victim, Julia Pemberton.  
  
"If you're actually stupid enough to think that I would not have taken steps to protect myself after you made that melodramatic display in front of Ezra then you really deserve to have a bullet put through your head," Julia replied icily. "You give us girls a bad name."  
  
Selena narrowed her eyes and stared at Julia with a faint smile. "You don't have it in you to pull that trigger." The mercenary's hand started moving down the length of her pants reaching for the blade that was tucked neatly in her boot. "You did it once only because I was about to kill the dear doctor, you don't have the guts to just shoot me dead in cold blood."  
  
If Julia did not see the movement, Chris certainly did. "Julia, watch out!" He warned.  
  
No sooner than the words had left his lips, Selena pulled out the weapon and Julia took one step back to escape it while pulling the trigger at the same time. The derringer's payload was small but very effective, almost as effective as the shot Julia made. Selena fell to the floor in a dead stop, the knife she would have used on Julia clattering uselessly into the darkness. Julia turned away from the body once she saw where the bullet had made its entry, unable to stomach the sight of the blood that was oozing out of Selena Quint's left eye.  
  
"You okay?" Chris asked as Julia wiped her mouth, feeling slightly nauseous at what she had done as she came towards the gunslinger.  
  
"I hate guns." Julia decided and handed the weapon to him as she approached. "What about you?" She inquired, seeing the pain in his face.  
  
"I'll live," Chris remarked and then threw a glance at Selena's motionless body on the floor and had only one parting word that could serve as a eulogy, should some decide she deserved one.  
  
"What a bitch."


	9. Aftermath

"Chris!" Vin Tanner called out as he and Ezra Standish entered the Pemberton Emporium, following their encounter with the two mercenaries that had been sent to shoot Chris down from the roof. Although the lawmen had made short work of them, Vin was nevertheless concerned when they discovered that Chris was no longer there and could not imagine any reason why the gunslinger would leave unless something was terribly wrong.  
  
"They were in the basement." Ezra informed automatically, limping through the main floor of the deserted store. He was accustomed to seeing this place filled with people shopping, women gaggling like geese as they caught up on gossip inside the ice creamery/ caf that were on premises, not to mention a whole host of activity that made the quiet seemed terribly disconcerting now.  
  
"You ought to take it easy on that leg," Vin remarked as he saw Ezra wince in pain with every step. A blood soaked handkerchief was tied firmly around it for the moment but Vin knew the injury needed tending to soon and did not envy how much work Alex had in front of her now that most of the fighting was done.  
  
"I assure you Mr. Tanner," Ezra replied as they descended the stairs that took them into the lower levels of the building. "I am motivated purely out of self interest to reach the basement, since that is the present place of residence for the only doctor of note at this time."  
  
Vin did not argue with him but was certain that his reasons had more to do with the fact that Julia was down there and considering how she had acquired the Quint woman's enmity, Ezra would not rest until he knew she was safe.  
  
"Chris!" Vin called out again as they descended and heard a response a moment later.  
  
"Down here!" The familiar voice of Chris Larabee answered as they stepped onto the storeroom and found the gunslinger being examined by Alex while Julia stood close by. In the other corner of the room, lying amongst a collection of up ended boxes was Selena Quint appearing very much in the past tense. The scene was enough to give both men concern as they approached.  
  
"Ezra!" Julia let out a sigh of relief as she saw him appear and wasted no time leaving the others and running into his embrace. She hugged him tight and notice the slight grimace on his features when she made contact.  
  
"Don't tell me you're hurt again." She eyed him with a hint of teasing.  
  
"Thank you my dear," he grumbled. "You're compassion is overwhelming." However, the expression of how they felt was obvious to anyone who truly knew them as they exchanged a private smile meant only for each other.  
  
Alex looked over her shoulder long enough to flash Vin a faint smile even though inside, she was bursting with happiness at seeing he was alive and well.  
  
However, at the present moment she was too focused on examining the extent of the damage done to Chris when he had gone hand to hand with Selena Quint. "Hey cowboy," she met his eyes long enough to tell him that she was very glad to see him and Vin understood all too well why she was not stopping to give him a more expressive reception.  
  
"How you doing pard?" Vin dropped to his knees next to Alex as she worked on Chris.  
  
Chris seemed in genuine pain and it seeped through his normally indifferent features, which liked to hide discomfort as part of his tough image. That Vin could see it now was a testament to how bad the pain must be and decided he was unsurprised to find Chris out of bed where he should have been resting following his injuries.  
  
"I've been better." Chris answered after a moment.  
  
"No kidding." Alex retorted, interrupting them both when she had removed the bandages and examined the gunslinger's chest. As expected, he had burst stitches and blood was exuding from his discolored flesh. "You are so going to stay in bed for the next month even if I have to...what's that thing you men do with rope?"  
  
"Lasso?" Vin suggested helpfully.  
  
"Lasso you, Mr. Larabee." Alex continued.  
  
"Is she always like this?" Chris met his gaze with a frown.  
  
"Don't get me started." Vin shook his head in response. "The sheriff at Sweet Water was rounding up a posse at dawn. They should be here soon."  
  
"Good," Chris nodded grimly, the momentary levity having dissolved to the more serious matters of their present predicament. "How is it out there?"  
  
"Amazingly enough," Ezra replied before Vin could. "We have managed to hold the brigands off quite well. We naturally acquired some losses yet but it was nowhere as bad as we imagined it was going to be."  
  
"Everyone pulled together," Julia pointed out. "It was quite amazing."  
  
"Oh by the way Vin," Chris said suddenly, his lips curling into the faintest tinge of a smile as he gestured the tracker closer. "About you leaving town?"  
  
"I did what I had to do." Vin said firmly, having heard from Ezra and the others that Chris had not been happy to hear that he had left town on his own even if it was for the worthy cause of summoning help. He was not ashamed of what he had done and would follow the very same course of action again, if the situation demanded.  
  
"I know," Chris replied, showing on some level he understood what Vin had done and the sentiments that had motivated his behaviour. "That's why I'm just going to do this instead of shooting you like I originally wanted." Without saying another word, he lashed out so quickly that Vin did not see the blow until the tracker had fallen over.  
  
"Thanks pard," Vin replied picking himself off the floor and rubbing his jaw. "You're all heart."

* * *

  
By the time the posse finally arrived in Four Corners, most of the mercenaries had fled following the death of both Diaz and Selena Quint. What stragglers remained were taken care of easily by the lawmen and Four Corners found itself having passed through the eye of the needle with a cost in lives and property that was difficult to stomach. While casualties had been low, there were still a few dead and while the town itself had survived the fires, Four Corners took on the appearance of a community that had just survived a war. In essence, it had been something of a war but there was some pride to be had when it was all said and done. The community had held together and had emerged all the better for it.  
  
The days that followed the siege were busy ones for everybody, in particular Alex. With Nathan off his feet, she was required to tend to all the medical needs in the town and she managed quite well with Rain at her side. As Alex had noticed earlier, the young woman made quite an effective nurse and seemed to be the only one who could manage Nathan with any ease since the healer was always trying to get out of his bed to see if anyone needed help. Mary was more than delighted to be able to take Chris home and take charge of his care, which was just as well because any more time under Alex's ministrations was going to cause blood to be spilled by either the doctor or patient.  
  
"Miss Alex," Nathan protested when she came to check on him. "I'm all better. I can get around on a cane." It was just driving the healer insane to be hanging around the temporary hospital taking up residence in the schoolhouse, watching all those around him that needed help while he was trapped in this bed.  
  
"Nathan, you must rest." Rain said giving Alex a weary sigh as if this was an argument she had heard one time too many today. "Your leg is far from better." She looked at him reproachfully and nestled herself onto the side of his bed, as if a constant vigil was the only way to ensure his cooperation.  
  
"Is he still giving you trouble?" Buck Wilmington announced as he and the other lawmen made their way towards the healers bed for a visit. Understandably, Chris was the only one absent among the group since he was sentenced to strict confinement in the tender care of his wife for the next week or so.  
  
"You have no idea," Alex replied, flashing a smile of welcome to Vin who gave her a light kiss on the lips when she joined him at his side, taking a moment to herself from her already too long day. Vin slid his arms around her waist and savoured having her close because they had been able to spend little time together since his return from Sweet Water. With the amount of injured people in Four Corners at the moment, this was as much intimacy as they would be sharing for a few days at least.  
  
"It appears that your convalescence is progressing slowly." Ezra commented hobbling towards the chair at the side of Nathan's bed and pulling it close to the healer's side. The gambler's own injury had yet to erase the limp from his walk and he sympathized with Nathan, whose injury to his knee was far worse since he knew how frustrating this immobile state could be.  
  
"Too long for my liking." Nathan groaned, easing back into his bed with an unhappy look on his face. "I've been stuck here like a pig in the mud."  
  
"I have just the thing to occupy your time." Ezra said with usual smugness and produced a deck of cards. A collective groan from those present soon followed in the wake of this predictable gesture. It seemed like there was no occasion that could be spared the sacrilege of the gambler's favourite pastime.  
  
"Why am I not surprised?" Josiah retorted, deciding that Ezra had no shame whatsoever.  
  
"The man does deserve some respite," Ezra said defending himself as he started to deal the cards on the crisp white sheets and rewarded the others for their critique with a triumphant smile when Nathan picked up the cards to play. "We have been through some heady time these past few days." Ezra added, just to make conclude his argument.  
  
"That's for sure." J.D. remarked when Buck followed quickly with a retort.  
  
"How would you know?" The big man grinned. "You were making out with Casey when I ran into you."  
  
"Buck!" J.D. hit him across the shoulder, crimson seeping into his face in embarrassment. Buck had taken a great deal of delight in telling the rest of the seven in what state he had found Casey and J.D. when they had come to the duo's rescue. While the others had been good enough to spare J.D. further humiliation by not referring to the subject any more, J.D. should have know that Buck was incapable of such restraint.  
  
"Leave the poor kid alone." Vin said coming to J.D.'s defense, feeling that he should since Chris was absent. Besides, the whole thing had embarrassed J.D. enough without Buck adding further humiliation to his suffering. "You plan on staying Rain, after all this?" Vin asked, making a tactful chance of subject. It was a valid question after all, Rain had been accustomed to the simplicity of a small village and what had taken place in Four Corners over the last few days would allow anyone to be forgiven if they chose to abandoned the place.  
  
"Yes," the young woman nodded. "Although I shall not be spending all my time at the saloon."  
  
"You won't?" Nathan met her gaze and tried to hide his relief but it was apparent in his voice. "Why not?" He asked a moment later, with a little less enthusiasm in his voice.  
  
"Mostly because of me." Alex declared. "The last few days, I've learn that there is one things that Four Corners needs more than two healers."  
  
"A gambling casino?" Ezra suggested and Vin swatted him across the back of the head playfully.  
  
"Actually," Alex gave the gambler a dark look and continued. "I meant a nurse. You and I need one Nathan and Rain is just a natural."  
  
"That's a great idea." Nathan beamed and could agree with Alex's conclusions because he too had seen her with patients and knew that she was more than up to the task. Her manner with patients had made things a great deal smoother during the siege and he kind of liked the idea that some day, when he was a real doctor, she could work alongside him.  
  
"I'm going to be training with Alex," Rain announced proudly, throwing the doctor a smile as she related her news. "But I'm still going to help Inez until the baby comes." She added just so that Nathan knew she had not conceded her plans because of any consideration to the prejudices he had about her working in that establishment.  
  
"I am grateful for that my dear lady," Ezra tipped his hat graciously at her direction. "I am sure paying customers are going to have difficulty being served liquor by a lady in the family way. No offence intended of course." He glanced at Buck with a smug smile since it was his fault that she was in that position.  
  
"None taken." Buck retorted but could not deny that he was glad that Rain would still be helping out Inez at the bar. Perfectly aware of how stubborn the love of his life could be, particularly about doing for herself, he did not want her to be lost of what help she did have. "I'll have you know Miss Rain that I am to contributing to Inez's situation myself."  
  
"I kind of thought you did that already." Josiah could not help adding and elicited a burst of laughter from the group.  
  
"Very funny." Buck muttered and made a face at the preacher that oozed displeasure.  
  
"By the way," Nathan asked as he continued to play cards with Ezra. "How is Chris doing?"  
  
"Well," Vin spoke up since he was last to see the gunslinger a short time ago. "He's mighty ornery. It seems Mary is keeping a closer eye on him than hawk on field mouse. He ain't going nowhere unless he wants to go through her."  
  
"Good," Alex replied with some measure of satisfaction. "There's only so many ways I can sneak up on him and jab him in the butt with morphine." She grumbled.  
  
"I won't ask you to explain that to me." Vin returned before addressing the others with some further news that Chris had told him during his visit to the Larabee home. "Mary wasn't able to find out anything about who might have hired Quint and the couple of survivors I talk to, didn't know either. I don't even think Diaz knew."  
  
"It has to be James and Royal." Buck stated firmly and not one person in the room disagreed with that assessment.  
  
"So they get away with it?" J.D. exclaimed, unable to believe that the two men who were really responsible for all this carnage would escape justice yet again.  
  
"Without proof, we ain't got no way of knowing they were responsible for this." Josiah declared and no one could disagree with him on that point either. Like before, it seemed like the two cattle barons were going to escaped unscathed after creating so much damage in corners to their victims. The very thought of such a thing left a bad taste in all their mouths, particularly since it meant that James and Royal may have the audacity to visit upon them some further calamity in the future.  
  
"Well Chris didn't say what he had in mind," Vin continued, remembering the enigmatic look on their leader when the subject had been discussed. "But I think he has something planned for those two."  
  
"Whatever it is," Ezra declared as he presented a straight to Nathan and won their game. "I hope it is a punishment befitting their crimes."  
  
"Knowing Chris," Buck remarked perfectly aware of what deviousness Chris Larabee could get up to when the mood inspired him. "It's likely to be interesting."

* * *

  
Guy Royal needed another drink.  
  
After the situation in Four Corners had blown up properly in their faces, yet again, the rancher was starting to wonder if a live and let live philosophy might be the best way to deal with the new wave of settlers. While he was certain that Quint had not revealed their identities to the seven, Royal knew the men would immediately think himself and Stuart James responsible for the mercenaries and the siege. He told himself repeatedly that while they might have their suspicions, they could do little else with their knowledge. Fortunately, as upholders of law and order in the area, it was beyond their power to do anything without evidence that indicated that Guy Royal and Stuart James were guilty.  
  
However, as Royal entered the darkened halls of his study, he could not shake the feeling that they might not have escaped the shackles of accountability unscathed. For the past few nights, a feeling on unease had crept into his bones, no matter how hard he might try to shake the sensation despite all of James' reassurances that they were safe. As he lit the lamp in the study and the warm glow of its light illuminated the room, Royal slipped into his chair and reached for the heavy sifter at the edge of his oak desk. Pouring himself a glass of the amber fluid inside it ornate confines, Royal took a deep breath of its aroma and felt the tension slip out of his bones, for the moment at least.  
  
Outside, it was dark and the wind was whipping up the tree in front of the French doors with awesome fury. Fascinated, he watched the branches striking the glass and reminded himself to tell the gardener to prune that tree before it broke the windows. It was hard to see the sky through the branches but it appeared as if a storm was on its way. Royal frowned at that, preferring warm, dry days to wet, miserable ones. It seemed to match his mood. As he eased back into his leather chair staring out the obstructed view through the window, he was about to take a sip of his cognac when suddenly a voice interrupted his lonely sojourn.  
  
"Good evening Mr. Royal." The man who stood at the door greeted the cattleman politely as if he were an invited guest and not a intruder.  
  
"Who the hell are you?" Royal demanded as he placed his glass down and stared at the man. His hand slid under the table, searching for the gun that he kept hidden secretly for instances just like this one. "And what are you doing in my house?"  
  
"I apologize for intruding at this late hour but I have just come back from my interview with your associate Mr. James and I felt that I could expedite both matters in one evening and be on my way." He smiled with perfect teeth in his perfect dark suit that took real money to purchase and certainly not to be bought from anywhere other than a big city.  
  
"Who are you?" Royal demanded nervously, wondering if this was the revenge he had been fearing.  
  
"I am nobody." The man answered entering the room like a coiled serpent. He did not walk in, he glided. Within seconds, he was seated in the wing chair before Royal's desk unperturbed by his unwilling host's hostility. "Just consider me an employee of the railroad."  
  
"The railroad?" Now Royal was starting to become confused. What did the railroad want with him?  
  
"Yes, the railroad." He said as if there was no reason for Royal to amazed by that statement and it was the most natural thing in the world for a transport giant to associate itself with a cattle baron. "My employers received an interesting telegram from a Mr. Chris Larabee. Do you know him?"  
  
Royal swallowed hard and betrayed his answer in his face.  
  
"I see you do," the man smiled, always with that stock standard expression of calm that was more unnerving than anything else he was saying. "Mr. Larabee had brought some interesting information to our attention regarding why we have been having so much difficulty securing the vicinity in which we wish to lay track in this area. We were aware of the lawlessness in the West but assumed that the particular difficulties we were having with Four Corners and its immediate locality was based on that unfortunate fact of life."  
  
"I don't see what all this has to do with me." Royal replied.  
  
"You know," the man sat up in his chair and turned that high powered gaze upon Royal without mercy even though his face still remained pleasant. "Mr. James said the same thing. Mr. Larabee has made some interesting allegations and while neither he nor the railroad can act legally on their suspicions, my employers are men of vision. By the time the railroad is done with the west, a man can travel from one end of the country to the other in a matter of days. They believe they are the wave of the future and in the name of the history they intend to carve for themselves they are willing to take extraordinary measures to protect what is their due. Now you sold your land to the railroad and you have enjoyed the fruits of their favour but it seems you and Mr. James have agendas of your own."  
  
"Larabee is a liar." Royal declared, suddenly having a very bad feeling that they might have prodded a dragon into waking and the creature was now bearing its teeth, while poised over his neck.  
  
"Maybe he is and maybe he isn't." The man continued. "However, should anything happen to the town of Four Corners that affects the laying track or anything that might hamper the progress of the railroad in this vicinity, my employers will assume that you and Mr. James are held responsible. Trust me, they have more money than you two cow farmers will ever dream of having. If they wish it, they can make you and Mr. James disappear without a trace with a snap of their fingers because you are not the only ones who know how to find talent in the underground."  
  
"You wouldn't..." Royal whispered but knew they would and could. This man had sneaked into his house without anyone knowing it, least of all him. If he wanted to, he could very well kill Royal now and walk out of here without anyone being the wiser to it all.  
  
"It’s been done before," he replied with a smile that seemed cold and humorless in the wake of his threat. "With men who were a considerable more bother than you I might add. You see Mr. Royal, what you need to understand is that while you are big fish in this pond, there is a sea out there with even bigger game waiting in the depths. Never make the mistake of thinking that you can compete in those waters. We will eat you alive."  
  
As Guy Royal looked into the icy blackness of his eyes, he knew it was true.

* * *

  
"Do you think it worked?" Mary asked as she slipped into bed with Chris earlier that night.  
  
"I don't know," he had to confess, shifting slightly to let her warmth envelop him on the soft mattress. "It was worth the try." The gunslinger said wincing slightly at the pain that nipped at him with every little movement. He had this awful feeling that his recovery was going to be slow and Chris wondered how he was going to stand being out of commission like this.  
  
"Maybe the railroad won't do anything about it." Mary pointed out as she fluffed her pillow and released her long gold hair from its confining bun. "I mean what can they do?" Normally she wore nothing to bed but with his being sick, she had taken to wearing a nightgown. Chris had come to loathe the sight of that thin sheet of cotton covering her skin.  
  
"Maybe nothing at all." Chris replied, watching the emanations of light bouncing off the cascade of her gold hair falling across her cream coloured shoulders as she lay down beside him and slid her arm over his waist, careful not to touch the wounded part of his body. "I have a feeling they will be interested in what I have to say though."  
  
What Chris did not tell Mary was that while Royal and James may think they were ruthless an all powerful, Chris knew for a fact what kind of tenacity the railroad companies pursued their goals and if cattle ranchers were aggressive than railroad men were even more fearsome. When Chris had sent them his telegram earlier that day, it was so with the intention of letting them know the liability they had in the machinations of the two cattlemen. While it was beyond the seven's ability to prove that Royal and James were responsible for the siege that had left Four Corners in its present state, he did believe that once made aware, the railroad would not take kindly to its interests being endangered for the lack of evidence.  
  
They had ways of protecting their own and if that meant taking the law into their own hands in their dealings with Messrs. Guy Royal and Stuart James, then Chris Larabee had only one thought on that whole subject. It could not happen to a more deserving two men.  
  
"Well in any case, there isn't much we can do about it now." She remarked and planted a kiss on his lips as she prepared to go to sleep. "Hopefully, we'll just have to wait until next time."  
  
"Until next time?" Chris stared at her. "I sure hope not. I'm just recovering from this one." He glanced at the bandages wrapped around his chest.  
  
"Think of it this way," she smiled seductively. "Be a good boy and in a few days I might be able to join you in bed for more than just rest."  
  
"Mrs. Larabee," Chris rolled over away from her and pretended to sleep. "I've got a headache." Chris teased before Mary hit him over the head with her pillow, injured or not.

 

  
  
**The End**

 


End file.
